More Damage Than You Know
by ducky76
Summary: A month later.. He is just dealing with his disability, when new problems arise. You have to read Can This Be True before reading this story. This is the sequel. discontinued
1. One Month

Here's the sequel to "Can This Be True?"! Thank you to everyone who liked the previous story enough to keep up with this one!

White Dandy, I don't know if the Saint Shield will be in this. I'm trying to think of a way to work them into the story because, other than the Bladebreakers, they are my favorite team.

Here's chapter one………

-----------------------------------

A month later…

It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon with a gentle breeze and a nice cloud cover. Birds were singing melodiously outside of the Granger dojo. At least they were singing, until…

"Arghhh!" The yell scared off many of the birds that had been residing in the trees. The shout was followed by angry footsteps and a door sliding open. Tyson came running out of the house.

"Tyson!" Hilary yelled as she ran to the door. She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "He can't hear you Hilary!" she shouted st herself. She sighed as she saw Tyson disappear from the yard.

Kai, Kenny, and Max were soon by her side at the door. Ray and Mariah got there a few seconds later, because Ray was a little slow on his crutches. They all stood on the porch looking sadly at where Tyson had disappeared from sight. Kai put a hand on Hilary's shoulder to keep her from chasing Tyson further. "Give him some time," he told her. "He needs to be by himself."

"He is always by himself Kai!" Hilary retorted. "Nearly every time we have sign language lessons he gets angry and runs off! I don't think time alone is what he needs!"

"For Tyson it is," Max said. "Right now he needs it. He's been through a lot."

"You can't blame him for getting angry Hil," Ray told her. "Tyson was already hotheaded to begin with, and this is all difficult for him to handle. It's a blow to his ego and he's really confused."

"But he needs to start communicating better," Hilary said. "He's barely learned anything from Ms. Delgado in the past month, because all he does is storm out of his lessons. I think we all know the sign language better than he does."

"And if any of us were in his position we would probably do the same as him," Kai said. "And he would be the one to learn the fastest to help us out. He's just frustrated Hilary. He doesn't want to learn because he doesn't want to admit to himself that he has to. You know how stubborn Tyson is."

Hilary sighed. "I know you're right but I want him to learn. I want to be able to talk with him again. I wish he would open up to me the way he used to. He's been so distant for the past couple of weeks."

"Just give it some time," Kenny told her. "Tyson will come around. He always does."

"No," Hilary said. "It's been enough time. I just can't let him go through this alone." She quickly ran off in search of her boyfriend.

---------------------------------------

Tyson sat under the bridge Indian style and stared at his beyblade as it spun on the ground. He pressed his palms against the ground and closed his eyes to concentrate on the vibrations made by the blade. About two weeks before he had begun to do this to clear his head. He had always loved the sound of spinning beyblade and that was one of the sounds he missed most. He'd found that feeling vibrations was the closest thing he could get to hearing the real thing. When he felt the vibrations he could almost hear the whooshing sound of a beyblade as it sliced through the air. It calmed him and really need to be calmed after the day's events.

He hadn't been mad just about the sign language, though he thought it was ridiculous. What was bothering him was the dreams he'd been having.

Ever since Tyson had lost his hearing he'd become more and more angry. It want bad enough that he'd never hear again. He also lost track of whatever he'd heard before. Every time he'd forgotten what his favorite song or favorite television show or the chirping of birds sounded like he'd become angrier with himself. He could barely remember his best friends' voices anymore. He couldn't hear them in his head, not even a memory of them. He couldn't hear the memory of his own voice. He couldn't remember the sound of someone screaming, "LET IT RIP!"

The dreams made it so much worse. He constantly dreamed about the day Hilary had told him that she loved him for the first time. It had started with the whole conversation, but night by night some would be lost in his mind. Her lips would move but no sound came out. He lost and word or phrase each time the dream came to him. After every dream he'd try to remember. He knew what Hilary had said to him, but he couldn't hear her saying it anymore. Tyson could still hear the words "I love you," but he was afraid. He was afraid that eventually those word would fade away forever. He didn't want to forget Hilary's voice and he clung tightly to the memory of those three words. They were all that mattered to him. He need to remember them, but he was losing them bit by bit and he prayed that he would not lose it all.

He felt the spinning stop and opened his eyes to find Hilary holding Dragoon out in front of him. He snatched it away from her, a little peeved that she had interrupted his thinking. "I thought you would have been at the beach," Hilary said as she signed with her hands.

Tyson watched her lips closely because he'd become good at reading lips. He understood that she'd said 'thought' and 'beach' and he got the gist of what she was saying. He shook his head. "I don't like the beach," he said. His voice was very slurred. It had become that way over the past months because he could not correct his speech by ear.

"Why?" Hilary asked, signing the word, which Tyson actually remembered from his lessons.

"I can't hear the waves," Tyson told her. "I used to like to go to listen to the ocean, but I can't anymore."

"Oh," Hilary said sadly. "What were you doing out here?"

Tyson watcher her lips again. Then he closed his eyes and leaned against the bridge. "Listening to Dragoon," he said. He didn't need to look at Hilary to know that she was raising an eyebrow at him. He opened his eyes and put Dragoon in his launcher. He pulled the ripcord and had Dragoon spinning in front of Hilary. "I didn't mean with my ears," he told her. He made her sit on the ground and he kneeled behind her. He took her hands and placed them palm down on either side of the spinning beyblade. Then he told her, "Listen with your hands. Feel it vibrate and spin." He put his hands over her ears for better perspective.

Hilary smiled as she 'listened.' Tyson was actually opening up to her. She felt like he was telling her a secret that e never wanted to share with anyone else. She closed her eyes to concentrate better. After five minutes that felt like an eternity of being content, she felt his hands move from her ears and rest around her waist. Tyson pulled her closer to him and rested his head on her shoulder. Hilary leaned back into him and rested her head on his and closed her eyes. "Now this is my Tyson," she whispered to herself. "I missed him."

They stayed like that for about 15 minutes. Hilary was the one that ended the moment by turning around to look at him. "I love you," she said as she showed him with their own gesture. Ever since she'd done it in the hospital, putting her hand over his heart had become their own way to say 'I love you,' so now she did the same.

"I love you too," Tyson said before kissing her softly on the lips. They pulled away and leaned their foreheads together. Tyson kissed Hilary's nose and she smiled, though her eyes were sad. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I wish I could make this all go away," she said. "I wish that you didn't have to hurt so badly."

Tyson did not catch the second sentence, but he understood the first. "You already do make it better," he told her. "You fix everything. I love you so much. Whenever it's just you and me, I feel like I can do anything. Everything. I just don't want to ever lose you. I want to hear you speak. I want to remember your voice, but I'm losing it bit by bit, and soon I won't have any memory left of it." He stood and Hilary did the same after handing Dragoon to him. "Let's go back."

Hilary nodded and they began to walk back to Tyson's house. About halfway there raindrops started to fall from the sky unsteadily for a few minutes before it turned into a heavy downpour. Hilary looked about ready to sprint back, but Tyson held her wrist to keep her with him. He smiled and looked at her.

"What?" Hilary asked when she saw him staring. She signed the word which was one of the few that Tyson knew.

"I was just thinking that things could be worse," Tyson told her. "I might have gotten something much worse than deafness in that lab. I could have died or been paralyzed or become mute or blind. I'm glad that I'm not blind. I would have missed this." He put a strand of hair behind her ear and stood face to face with her. "The only thing worse than never hearing you again would be to never see you again. I could never deal with not being able to see you. You're so beautiful Hil, that it stuns me every time I look at you. I want to be stunned. I want to see you smile and laugh. I want to look into your eyes. I want to see you get caught out in the rain with me." He kissed her again and laughed, a bit embarrassed to have confessed that all to her.

Hilary smiled. Sometimes, Tyson would say things that could make Hilary so angry. He'd always been good at that. But then there were times such as this when he said the perfect words and surprised her. She kissed Tyson back. "We should go back," she told him. "Your cast is going to stink."

Tyson tilted his head in confusion, not knowing what she'd said. Hilary motioned her head in the direction of Tyson's house to say, "Let's go." Tyson nodded. He grinned and swooped her up in his arms and carried her home. Hilary laughed the entire way there. When they got back, Kai, Ray, Mariah, Max, and Kenny were all sitting on the porch. Max and Ray both laughed when they saw Tyson carrying Hilary. Mariah looked at Ray questioningly as if to say, "Why don't you do that?" Kenny chuckled a bit and Kai watched in amusement.

Tyson set Hilary down and grinned sheepishly at his friends, blushing. Hilary laughed at him and turned to the others. "Don't tell me you've all been waiting out here for us," she said jokingly.

"No," Ray said sarcastically. "We just enjoy staring at the rain. It's just so interesting."

"I think so," Hilary said.

"Why don't you two step out of the rain," Max asked.

"Yea," Kenny added. "Don't you think it's a bit wet?"

"Really?" Hilary asked as if she was clueless. "I hadn't noticed."

Ray laughed. "Well come in and dry off," Mariah said. "I think Kai plans to make us all train inside today. You'll have to spare us your boyfriend." Mariah had been training with the Bladebreakers during her stay in Japan.

Hilary grinned. "No thanks," she said. "I think Ty and I want to stay out here. Right Tyson?" She looked at Tyson, and stopped smiling. He looked disoriented and confused. His face was contorted as if he was in pain.

Kai noticed too and rushed to Tyson's side. "Are you ok?" he asked him.

Tyson looked at him. "My head just hurts a little," he said. "I think I'm going to go in and lie down."

Kai nodded. Hilary looked very worried. She walked with Tyson into the house. She got him Tylenol and a glass of water and took it to his bedroom where he was lying down. She realized that his face was a little red. After handing him the Tylenol she put her hand on his forehead. It was burning up. She shook her head and muttered something that had to do with standing in the rain. Tyson saw and said, "No. I had a headache when I woke up too."

"Go to sleep," she commanded him. She kissed his forehead and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. "Is he ok?" Max asked when she reached the living room to find everyone there.

"He has a fever," Hilary said. "He said that he had a headache this morning when he woke up. I hope he isn't catching anything."

"Are you sure it was just a headache?" Ray asked.

"What do you mean?" Hilary asked him.

"He looked really confused," Ray replied. "Like he was dizzy or something."

"Do you think something is wrong with him?" Hilary asked worriedly.

"He's probably fine," Mariah said. "I think Ray is just overanalyzing it." She shot a warning glance at her boyfriend to tell him to stop worrying Hilary. She knew that Hilary was as protective of Tyson as she was of Ray. "Right Ray?"

"Oh," Ray said. "Yea."

---------------------------------

Tyson looked at the window. He winced at the pain at the ringing in his ears. He put his hands over his ears in an attempt to stop it, but it didn't help at all. He heard the ringing in his head and it wouldn't stop. He eventually passes out from the pain.

When Hilary came to check on him she found him asleep. She took the empty glass and carried it out to the kitchen. 


	2. The New Problems

I have found a way to put some of the Saint Shields in this story!! And I plan to have a new pairing too! At least one of the Saint Shields will probably be in the story next chapter or the one after that.   
  
I may not update again until the weekend because I have practice after school every day until 9. So if I do get off early any of the days I will try to update.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Tyson woke up around 8 the next morning to a loud crash. He jolted up from bed and looked around for the source of the sound before realizing that it must have been part of his dream. He sighed an stood quickly, swaying to catch himself when he lost his balance from dizziness. Once he had managed to stand firmly he walked out to the kitchen for breakfast. Ray was sitting down at the table while Mariah cleaned up a mess that had been made of an omelet in a frying pan that had been dropped on the floor.  
  
Tyson looked at the frying pan with curiosity and felt a migraine coming on. He rubbed his temple and sat down beside Ray before dizziness could overcome him again. "What happened?" he asked.  
  
Ray grabbed a pen and paper that were sitting on the table. 'I tried to make breakfast,' he wrote. 'I dropped it and she doesn't think I can clean it myself.' He showed it to Tyson and then added, 'Are you alright? You slept since 5 in the afternoon.'  
  
"I'm fine," Tyson lied. He felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Mariah. He quickly pushed away her hand and attempted to glare at her.  
  
"His fever broke," she told Ray. "Tell him that Hilary will be over in an hour. She went out to go grocery shopping with her mother." Mariah went to make a new set of omelets for them.  
  
Ray wrote what Mariah had told him but also added that Max was at counseling session and Kenny just hadn't come over yet. Kai's whereabouts were unknown as usual. 'Are you sure that you are ok?' he wrote again.  
  
Tyson frowned. "Mariah, I don't want anything," he said. "I'm not too hungry. I think I'm going to go for a walk and see if I find Kai anywhere."  
  
Ray shook his head. 'Hilary would kill us if we let you go out after being sick,' he wrote quickly.  
  
"Well it's not Hilary's decision," Tyson said. "I need to get some fresh air. I'm not a baby you know." With that he stormed out of the house as quickly as he could without losing his balance again.  
  
Mariah turned off the stove and sat beside Ray. "I hope he's ok," she said worriedly. "Hilary is really going to kick my ass. She told me to make sure he was ok when I came over here."  
  
"Something is definitely wrong with him," Ray told her. "Maybe I'm the only one that's noticed.."  
  
"What?" Mariah asked.  
  
"Well he's been losing weight," Ray said.  
  
Mariah thought for a minute and nodded. "You're right. He has been. Has he not been eating?"  
  
"No," Ray said. "With the exception of this morning he eats fine."  
  
Mariah sighed. "I really hope he's ok," she said again. "Come on. You've got to go to physical therapy today for your leg."  
  
Ray rolled his eyes as he stood up and grabbed his crutches. "Maybe they'll actually let me off of these things," he said hopefully.  
  
"Probably not," Mariah said. "You are going to keep using those things. You hear me?" She looked at him warningly. "You can't be walking around without them like you did this morning. A lot of good that did you huh? You ended up falling. Or must I remind you about that omelet that I had to clean up?"  
  
Ray smiled sheepishly. "I'll be fine without the crutches Mariah," he told her.  
  
"Are you kidding me?" Mariah asked incredulously. "I know your leg still hurts. That bullet tore right through the muscle!"  
  
"I'm fine," Ray said passively. "Don't worry so much!"  
  
"I just want you to heal up faster," Mariah told him.  
  
"The sooner I can blade again, the sooner I'll heal," Ray told her.  
  
"Well don't think you're going to be blading before you can stand on your own two legs again!" Mariah told him.  
  
"I'm holding you to that," Ray joked. "As soon as the doctor says I don't need these I'll be out there blading again."  
  
"Oh Ray," Mariah sighed with exasperation. "Let's just go."  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Tyson wandered around the park in search of Kai. He needed to talk to him, because he knew Kai was the only one who could always give him the advice that he needed. He eventually found him leaning against a tree in classic Kai position with his eyes closed. Tyson was about to saw something to him but his ears began to ring again. He groaned and grasped his head as he fell to his knees.  
  
Kai's eyes opened at the sound of the groan. "Tyson?!" he gasped at the sight of his friend as he ran to his side.  
  
"I can't stop the ringing Kai!" Tyson yelled as he jammed his eyes shut. "I can't stop it! I keep hearing it!"  
  
Kai looked at Tyson with confusion and fear. He had no idea about what to do, so he kneeled in front of Tyson. He shook him to get him to open his eyes, but Tyson wouldn't look at him. Hot tears fell down his cheeks. Kai felt his forehead, which was burning up. "Tyson!"  
  
Tyson's eyes snapped open and looked straight at Kai with shock. "Kai I…" He started to cry out again in pain. "Ma-make i-it stop! P-p-lease st-stop it!"  
  
Kai hurriedly pulled Tyson to his feet and practically dragged him back to the house where he rested him on the couch. "Mr. Granger!" he called. "Come quick!" Grandpa was soon in the living room with him.  
  
"Yea dude?" he asked. "What's shakin'?"  
  
"Tyson," Kai said as he gestured toward the couch where Tyson was grasping his head. The pain had subsided for the most part, but his head still hurt badly.  
  
"I'm ok now I think," Tyson told Kai unsurely. He was still shaking a bit from the pain. "I… I need to talk to you."  
  
"What's going on?" Grandpa asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," Kai replied. "He just started yelling like he was in pain. He was crying and screaming."  
  
Grandpa sat beside Tyson and felt his forehead. "You have a fever little man," he said in a worried tone. "Kai could you please go get a wet washcloth? Use cold water."  
  
Tyson slapped his grandfather's hand away as he saw Kai walk off. "Kai! I said that I need to talk to you!" he yelled. "Right now!"  
  
Kai stopped and turned to face him again. Grandpa sighed and went to get what he need, and Kai took his seat. He picked up the pen and paper from the coffee table and wrote on it. 'What the hell happened?'  
  
"My ears have been ringing since yesterday morning," Tyson told him. "It hurts really bad, and it's worse every time."  
  
'Maybe you have the flu,' Kai wrote. 'That would explain why you've been getting sick lately.'  
  
"How'd you know that I kept getting sick?" Tyson asked.  
  
'You look it,' Kai replied.  
  
"I don't think I'm sick," Tyson told him. "Well, I probably am catching something,. But I don't think that is the problem. Something else is japanning Kai." He didn't get to finish explaining because his grandfather came back into the room with a washcloth, a thermometer, and the phone. He mad Tyson sit back with the washcloth on his head and the thermometer in his mouth. A minute later the thermometer read 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit.  
  
"I'd better call a doctor," Grandpa said.  
  
Just then Max came back from counseling to see Grandpa calling, "What's going on?" he asked.  
  
Tyson threw the washcloth off of his face and looked at his grandfather. "I'm fine Grandpa!" he said sharply.  
  
Max sat on the side of Tyson which was unoccupied by Kai. He looked at Tyson fearfully. "Is he ok?"  
  
"Well he says he is," Kai replied. He looked at Grandpa. "Maybe you shouldn't call," he told him. "Tyson doesn't seem to be in the mood to go. Just make him rest."  
  
Tyson had no idea what they were saying about him and was getting mad. "It would be nice if you could stop talking about me when I can't hear you!" he said.  
  
Kai shook his head and grabbed Tyson by the arm. He pulled him to the bedroom and made him lie down. "I'm ok now!" Tyson insisted.  
  
Kai wrote 'Rest' on a piece of paper.  
  
"I still need to talk to you!" Tyson insisted. Kai realized that Tyson didn't just look angry. He looked anxious. "It's important."  
  
Kai nodded and sat beside him. Max came into the room. "Grandpa wants to take Tyson to the hospital," he said.  
  
"No," Tyson said.  
  
Kai and Max both stared at him in disbelief. Tyson had his back to Max. "How did you know he said that?" Kai asked, not bothering to write it.  
  
Tyson shook his head. "I didn't hear you just now," he told him. Max came and sat beside Tyson. "I heard the word 'hospital' though." Tyson stared out of the window. "That's what I need to talk to you about. This morning Ray dropped a frying pan in the kitchen… and it woke me up." He looked back at Kai. "And I heard you say my name. Today I keep catching sounds here and there. I- I think I'm getting my hearing back." Max was smiling but frowned when he saw how scared Tyson looked. "But something else is wrong," Tyson told them. "I don't think it has anything to do with getting my hearing back. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but something is wrong…"  
  
Max looked at Kai with worry in his eyes, hoping Kai knew what was going on, but Kai looked just as confused as Max did.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Two nights earlier….  
  
Two teens stood before a building that was blocked off by police crime scene tape. The girl had curly purple hair that reached her waste and matching purple eyes. She was a tall, slim 15-year-old with a dead-on aim using a beyblade. The boy with her was about 2 years older. His hair was aqua colored and his eyes were bright, lime green. His beyblade could spin faster than most around. These two were partners and dreamed of becoming the top beybladers, as many teenagers did.  
  
They walked past the tape into the building. They walked through the halls until they came to a rather large room that was full of expensive equipment. The girl brushed her finger across the keyboard of a large computer. She looked at the dust that collected on her forefinger and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She rubbed the dust away with her thumb. "One month and dust is already collecting," she said. She pressed the power button of the computer.  
  
"That's what happens when the police are left in charge," the boy said. He had a dull voice that made him sound very bored as if he thought he were royal. "Things fall into a state of disrepair. The police are fools." He pushed a box on the floor with his foot.  
  
"At least this thing is working," the girl replied. She was staring at the computer screen as a lot of statistics and information showed up on it and flashed across quickly. "Your father really knew what he was doing here huh? Do you think the police will catch us?" The boy didn't answer her. "Jason?"  
  
"No," the boy, Jason, answered. "I already told you. They're fools. They won't have any idea what we are doing."  
  
"Are you sure?" the girl asked. She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck.  
  
"I'm sure," Jason told her as he put his hands on hips. "Once we finish what he started we'll get him out of jail, and he'll give us everything we ever wanted. We'll convince him to have us as a part of his new team."  
  
"He's going to be very proud of you," the girl told him.  
  
"For the first time in my life," Jason replied with scorn. "I just need you to do what I brought you for." He sealed the deal with a kiss.  
  
The girl smiled and walked back to the computer. She typed something into it and then looked over her shoulder at Jason. "We're in luck," she told him. "This thing still has tabs on that kid." She looked at the information some more. "And better news."  
  
"What?" Jason asked. "Is it actually effective?"  
  
The girl nodded. "We do have some problems though."  
  
"Like what?" Jason asked as he joined her at the computer.  
  
The girl pointed at a line of information. "You see that?" she asked. Jason nodded. "Well that is his information. Compare it to this." She pointed at another line that was very similar.  
  
"Who's is that?" Jason asked.  
  
"Dunga's," she said. "His information is almost the same."  
  
"And Dunga died," Jason said, finishing her thoughts. "Will the same happen to him?"  
  
"I can't tell," the girl replied. "If we push this project too far it will."  
  
"We only need a week," Jason said. "My father's trial is in a few days. We just need to make the kid testify the way we want, and then the rest doesn't matter."  
  
The girl nodded. "Ok."  
  
"And how about the rest of the problems?" Jason asked her. "Can you fix them? Up him to full alertness?"  
  
"Of course I can," the girl said smugly.  
  
Jason smirked. "Then get working. Operation Granger is back in motion." 


	3. Step One of the Plan

Hey! I finally updated!! I'm using my dad's work computer, so I won't be updating   
  
as quickly as usual. To make up for the long wait I decided to give you all a very   
  
eventful chapter. A lot of stuff will happen in this chapter, but don't worry! I have a   
  
lot planned for the other chapters too.   
  
I need help with something for the court scene though. First I need to know if   
  
Gideon is that guy's last name. And I also need to know if Hilary and Kenny have   
  
last names. If not, I will just make them up.  
  
"Jason we need to talk," the girl with the long purple hair told her boyfriend as he   
  
entered the lab. The tone to her voice was serious and unnerving.  
  
Jason put his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her   
  
shoulder lovingly. "Is there a problem with our plan Lanie?" he asked her with a   
  
hint of danger in his voice.  
  
Lane bit her lip nervously. "Yes and no," she said quietly. "There is nothing   
  
wrong with the possibility of its fulfillment, but..."  
  
"But what?" Jason asked her as he turned her around to face him.  
  
"I don't think i can do this to that kid," Lane said to him. She didn't look into   
  
his eyes for fear of the anger she might see in them.  
  
"Why not?" Jason asked.  
  
"I've reviewed the information for this mind control substance again," Lane   
  
said. "It's very dangerous. You see, it blocks off whatever signal is being sent by   
  
its host cell. It sends those signals here where this computer can change them   
  
and send them back to the host cells."  
  
"How does that work?" Jason inquired.  
  
"The chemical sends out radiation waves that we pick up and transfer into   
  
computer data," Lane explained.  
  
"Sounds complicated," Jason replied. "But tell me how that has changed   
  
your mind about this mission."  
  
"Well there is more to what the substance does," Lane told him. "That   
  
what I just discovered by reviewing it. The reason it can send the signals here is   
  
because it cuts it off. It slowly kills the host cells. That is why Tyson is deaf."  
  
"Ok," Jason said. "And?"  
  
"Don't you get it?" Lane said incredulously. "If we do this to Tyson,   
  
changing the pattern and location of the chemical, it could seriously damage him.   
  
If it attacks a very important part of his nervous system it could kill him Jason."  
  
"I thought you already knew about that risk," Jason said. "You told me that   
  
he might die. It didn't bother you before now."  
  
"It did," Lane told him. "But i wasn't letting it get to me. Now though..."  
  
"What's changed?" Jason wondered.  
  
Lane turned away from him and opened a file on the computer. "That has   
  
changed," she said as a video recording began to play on the screen. It was of   
  
Tyson with the Bladebreakers at his sign language lessons.  
  
"What is this?" Jason asked. He was glaring at the screen.  
  
"I sent Lina out to spy and get some info on the Bladebreakers," Lane told   
  
him. "Look how close they are. They help Tyson through everything. They are   
  
willing to go through anything with him." The screen changed to a recording of   
  
Tyson and Hilary under the bridge. Lane looked back at her boyfriend. "I can't do   
  
something so wrong to someone with so many people that care about him. I can't   
  
do that to them. They are good people. Just look at how much that girl loves   
  
him."  
  
Jason pulled Lane close to him. "Lanie," he whispered into her ear. "Do   
  
you love me that much?"  
  
Lane smiled and nodded. Jason looked at the computer screen and glared   
  
at the couple that showed in it. "Good," he said harshly. He pushed her down into   
  
the swivel chair in front of the computer. "Then show me. Get back to work." He   
  
turned around. "You are here to get my dad out of jail, not to try to make me 'see   
  
the good side,'" he sneered.  
  
"Fine," Lane spat at him. "I'll do it. But i won't like it, and I can't say that I   
  
like what kind of person you are becoming."  
  
"Just do as I say," Jason said as he walked out of the door. Lane glared at   
  
the place he'd been standing in. She wanted to kill his plan just to spite him for   
  
what he'd just done, if not for the Bladebreakers, but she would do it. No matter   
  
how angry she was, she loved Jason and she would go to the ends of the earth   
  
for him.  
  
She turned back to the computer and started to get back to work. The first   
  
step of her job: get back Tyson's hearing.  
  
"Kai," Tyson said. "We need to get out of here before Hilary comes. I don't want   
  
her to worry about me if Grandpa says something to her."  
  
Max looked unsure but Kai nodded. He knew that Hilary would start   
  
babying Tyson when she got there, especially if she knew something was wrong   
  
with him. Tyson sighed with relief when Kai agreed. He was about to stand up   
  
when a strange look came over his face and he froze.  
  
"Tyson?" Max asked worriedly. His friend's eyes glazed over a bit and   
  
were open, though unseeing. Max waved a hand in front of Tyson's face to get   
  
his attention, but Tyson remained still and silent. "Snap out of it! Kai what's wrong   
  
with him?"  
  
"I don't know," Kai said. He shook Tyson, still earning no response.  
  
Lane looked at the computer screen again. It read, "100% Do you wish to   
  
continue?" All Lane had to do was press one key to finish the first part of the   
  
plan. She placed one finger on the enter button and took a deep breath before   
  
pressing it.  
  
Tyson started to scream in pain. He jammed his eyes shut and grasped his head.   
  
The pain was intensified worse than before. It felt like he was dying. He felt a pair   
  
of arms wrap around his body, but he couldn't open his eyes to view their owner.   
  
Between his cries of pain and heavy breathing he could hear bits and pieces of   
  
conversation. "…..pa! Call…hos…tal!" Tyson opened his eyes just in time to   
  
catch a glimpse of two worried faces of his friends before he passed out.  
  
"Tyson!" Max cried as his friend went limp in his arms. "What do we do   
  
Kai?!"  
  
"Mr. Granger is calling an ambulance," Kai replied calmly. "Don't panic.   
  
Let's just try to wake Tyson up."  
  
Max nodded and held back the tears that were forming in his eyes. He set   
  
Tyson down on the bed. "Should I get water or something?" he asked.  
  
"A damp washcloth," Kai said as he sat beside Tyson with a hand on his   
  
forehead. "He's burning up again."  
  
"Ok," Max said as he ran off to get what was needed. He passed a frantic   
  
Grandpa on the way out of the room.  
  
"The ambulance is on its way," Grandpa said. He stood beside his   
  
grandson's bed and stared at him with fear.  
  
"He'll be fine," Kai said reassuringly. "I'm sure it's nothing."  
  
Max came running back into the room and gave Kai the washcloth.   
  
"Thanks," Kai said as he took it and dabbed Tyson's hot forehead with it. "Call   
  
Hilary. She might get a little angry if we don't tell her."  
  
"Ok," Max said. Again he ran off to call. "Good idea," Grandpa said. "Maxie   
  
shouldn't be in here now. He gets freaked out."  
  
Kai nodded. He gently shook Tyson to wake him, but there was no   
  
reaction. After a few minutes they heard the sirens of the ambulance. Max led the   
  
paramedics to the room where they loaded Tyson onto a stretcher. Another   
  
paramedic came in and asked questions about what had happened. "How long   
  
has he been unconscious?"  
  
"About 5 minutes," Max answered.  
  
"And what exactly happened?" the paramedic asked.  
  
"His head started to hurt him really badly," Kai said.  
  
"Was it bothering him before then?"  
  
"Yes," Grandpa said.  
  
"All day yesterday and today," Kai told the paramedic.  
  
"Ok," another paramedic said. "We're ready to take him."  
  
The paramedic questioning the others nodded. "We're taking him to Tokyo   
  
Hospital. Does one of you wish to accompany him in the ambulance?"  
  
"I need to drive the car there," Grandpa said. "Kai will you do me a favo   
  
and go with him? Call Mr. Dickenson if anything happens. In fact, call and tell him   
  
to pick Ray up from physical therapy."  
  
"Ok," Kai replied with a nod. He followed the paramedics to the ambulance   
  
and went off with them.  
  
"Let's get in the car," Grandpa told Max. "We'll pick up Hilary on the way."  
  
Max stared at the ambulance as it drove away. "Ty's going to be ok, right   
  
Grandpa?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Of course," Grandpa lied. He really had no idea what would happen to his   
  
grandson. "The little dude is pretty tough. Come on now. Let's get going."  
  
Max nodded and followed Grandpa into the car.  
  
"What's wrong sweetie?"  
  
Hilary turned to her mother after hanging up the phone. "Tyson is being   
  
taken to the hospital," she said. "He passed out." Hilary's face was pale with fear   
  
and worry.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine," her mother said comfortingly. She put an arm around   
  
her daughter's shoulder. "He'll be ok."  
  
Hilary bit her lip nervously. "What if he isn't?" she asked. "What if he's   
  
really sick?" Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I don't want him to die Mom!"  
  
"He won't," her mother assured her. "Honey he'll be fine. He always is   
  
right? That's what you always say."  
  
"I know that's what I always say," Hilary said. "But… That doesn't mean   
  
I'm right."  
  
"He will be ok," her mother said. "Don't worry. Do you want me to take you   
  
to meet him at the hospital?"  
  
"No," Hilary said. "Thanks Mom, but Mr. Granger is going to pick me up."  
  
"Ok," her mother replied. She went to go back into the kitchen. At the   
  
doorway she rested her hand on the doorframe and turned to look back at her   
  
daughter, who looked extremely scared still. "Please don't worry sweetie. I'm   
  
sure things will be fine."  
  
Hilary forced a small smile to her face and gave a small nod. "Ok Mom.   
  
Thank you."  
  
Kai stood in the entrance to the ER, looking quite dumbfounded as Tyson was   
  
rushed into a room. He was in a state of shock after what he'd just witnessed in   
  
the ambulance. He'd never seen someone have a seizure before, and seeing it   
  
for the first time was much more frightening than he ever could have imagined.  
  
"Young man can I help you?"  
  
Kai snapped out of his daze and searched for the source of the voice that   
  
he'd just heard. "Huh?"  
  
"I said 'Can I help you?'" The woman behind the desk responded.  
  
Kai stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "No," he said. "I   
  
just need to find a pay phone."  
  
"There's one around the corner there," the woman told him. She used a   
  
pen in her hand to point him in the right direction.  
  
"Thank you," Kai said with a small nod of his head. He went to the phone   
  
and waited for the girl using it to finish. She was about 15 years old and had   
  
waist length, purple hair. When Kai stood beside her, her purple eyes snapped in   
  
his direction for an instant. She smirked and turned her back on him.  
  
"Yea, some of them are already here," she said to the person on the other   
  
end of the phone. She listened to the response for a minute. "Ok. I'll call you   
  
again later Lane. There's a cute guy waiting to use the phone." She hung up and   
  
turned back to Kai. "It's all yours."  
  
Kai nodded and grabbed the phone, expecting the girl to leave. He raised   
  
an eyebrow at her as she remained there. The girl smiled at him. "You got a   
  
name?" she asked.  
  
"Yea," Kai replied. "What's it to you?"  
  
The girl's smile widened. "I'm Lina Cahr," she said.  
  
"Well Lina," Kai said. "I don't know if you realized, but I'm trying to make   
  
an important phone call right now."  
  
"Ok," Lina said, giving a small chuckle. "I'll be seeing you around, Kai   
  
Hiwatari." She walked off after giving him a flirtatious wink.  
  
Kai stared at her oddly as she left. "I never told her my name," he   
  
whispered to himself. He just shook it off and went back to his phone call. He   
  
dialed Mr. Dickenson's number. The phone rang a few times before the old man   
  
answered with a cheerful 'hello.'  
  
"Mr. Dickenson," Kai said. "It's Kai. Mr. Granger needs you to pick up Ray   
  
from physical therapy today."  
  
"Certainly," Mr. Dickenson replied. "Is there a problem? You sound a bit   
  
upset."  
  
"Yes," Kai said. "Tyson is in the hospital right now."  
  
"Oh my!" Mr. Dickenson gasped. "What on earth happened?"  
  
"He passed out," Kai told him. Kai gulped nervously. "Mr. Dickenson, he   
  
had a seizure on the way here."  
  
"Where is Mr. Granger? Could you please put him on the phone?"  
  
"I'm the only one here yet," Kai replied. "I came with Tyson."  
  
"My dear boy, are you alright?"  
  
"Yea," Kai lied. "I just hope Tyson is ok."  
  
"I'm sure he is," Mr. Dickenson reassured him. "I will immediately go pick   
  
up Ray and Mariah, and I will bring them directly to the hospital."  
  
"Thank you," Kai said. "I have to go see if Tyson is awake yet. Bye."  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
Kai hung up the phone and sighed. He went back to the desk in the   
  
waiting area. "Is there any news on Tyson Granger yet?" he asked the woman   
  
that had helped him before.  
  
"He's been settled into a room," the woman replied. "They can't really do   
  
anything for him right now. The doctors are waiting for his guardian to arrive so   
  
that they can run tests on him to find out what is wrong."  
  
"Did Tyson wake up?" Kai asked.  
  
"I don't know," the woman replied. "You can go in and see him if you wish.   
  
He's in the second room on the left down there."  
  
Kai nodded. "Thank you." He was about to go to the room when Hilary,   
  
Max, and Grandpa came running in.  
  
"Where is he?" Max asked.  
  
"This way," Kai said, leading them to the room. Just before entering he   
  
caught a glimpse of Lina watching him from the waiting room. Kai closed the door   
  
behind himself, Hilary, and Max. Grandpa had gone to talk to a doctor about   
  
running tests. Tyson was lying on a bed with his eyes half opened lazily. He   
  
slightly turned them up to watch his friends enter.  
  
Hilary pulled a small notepad out of her pocket to write on. 'How are you   
  
feeling?' She went to show it to Tyson, but he pushed it away weakly. "Say it," he   
  
told her.  
  
Hilary gave him a strange look. "How are you feeling?" she asked.  
  
Tyson smiled a bit. "Terrible," he told her. "My head is killing me."  
  
Hilary raised her eyebrow at him and tilted her head to the side in   
  
confusion as to why he was smiling. Tyson's smiled widened. "I can hear you. I   
  
can hear everything better than ever." Everyone's eyes widened with shock. 


	4. An Old Friend Returns

My computer is working again!! I still might not update that often though. I'm really busy lately!!!  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Mr. Granger," Dr. Reeves said to Grandpa. "I'm afraid that your grandson's condition may become very bad."  
  
"What's wrong with the little dude?" Grandpa asked worriedly.  
  
"We're not sure as to the cause of anything yet," Dr. Reeves said. "But I am very concerned, because Tyson did not just loose consciousness."  
  
"What do you mean?" Grandpa asked.  
  
"He had a seizure in the ambulance," Dr. Reeves explained. "As I told you already, the cause is not definite as of yet. We have some ideas of what may have-"  
  
"What ideas?" Grandpa cut him off. "What might be wrong with him?"  
  
The doctor looked a little unsure of what to tell him. "Don't worry about that yet," he told him. "We need to run tests before we can be sure of anything."  
  
"What kinds of tests?" Grandpa inquired.  
  
"MRI, blood tests, things like that," Dr. Reeves said. "We already took his blood, but the MRI will take a few hours. I scheduled for it to be done tomorrow. I just need your approval."  
  
"Ok," Grandpa said. "Just find out what's wrong with him as soon as you can and fix it."  
  
Everyone stared at Tyson with shock. No one knew what to say to him. "How?" Hilary was the first to break the silence.  
  
"I don't know," Tyson replied, with a lazy grin still on his tired face. He was so happy that he wanted to jump and down with joy, but his head did hurt badly. He closed his eyes so that he could see the room spinning around him. Tyson let his smile drop as the dull throbbing in his head increased slightly.  
  
"Tyson?" Kai asked, seeing him do this. "Are you awake?"  
  
"Hmmm," Tyson replied, not feeling like saying anything.  
  
"You scared me," Kai said.  
  
Tyson frowned and looked at Kai. "Gees," he said. "I just closed my eyes. I didn't die!"  
  
Kai shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I meant on the way here."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Tyson asked curiously.  
  
Kai looked down at his feet. "It's good that you don't remember," he said. "You probably wouldn't want to."  
  
"Remember what?" Max asked.  
  
Kai remained silent, and in any situation that would have been expected of him. But now he'd made everyone curious. "What doesn't he remember Kai?" Hilary asked.  
  
Kai looked at her and knew he had to tell her. "He had a seizure," he said as he looked away.  
  
Hilary gasped and looked at Tyson, who looked just as surprised as she did. "No I didn't," Tyson said. "You can't be serious."  
  
"Would I lie about something like that Tyson?" Kai asked crossly.  
  
"But… I…" Tyson shut his eyes again. "What's wrong with me?" he whispered to himself.  
  
Everyone fell silent again, before Max decided to speak up. "Uh, guys," he said. "I think I should go tell Kenny about what happened. We never called him, and I think it might be better if I just go find him. He's probably at Tyson's wondering where we are right now." In truth, Max just wanted to get out of the room. Situation like this always made him uncomfortable.  
  
"Yea," Kai said, understanding Max's motives. "That would probably be best."  
  
"I'll see you later Ty," Max said as he got up and left. Tyson didn't even acknowledge his goodbye. He was too caught up in the thoughts of his own head to pay any attention to the others, because now he knew something bad was going to happen.   
  
Max didn't notice Lina standing beside the door as he left. As soon as he was down the hall, Lina went to the nearest pay phone and called back the same person as earlier. The phone rang once before it was answered. "Lane?" Lina asked. "It's me."  
  
"So what is happening at the hospital?" the other voice asked.  
  
"Well," Lina said. "I was just listening in on what the Bladebreakers were saying. It seems like our computer didn't pick up on all of Tyson's vitals."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Did you know that he had a seizure?" Lina asked. When she got no response she continued. "I didn't think so. But he did have one, so now I bet he'll need to have tests run on him. That won't be too good for our little plan will it?"  
  
"We'll find a way around it," Lane said unsurely.  
  
"I'm sure we will," Lina said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to my job spying on the Bladebreakers. That Kai is pretty cute. And I think the other cute one, Ray is on his way here. Maybe I'll get to know them a bit."  
  
"I don't think Jason will like that," Lane said warningly.  
  
Lina sighed exasperatedly. "Who cares what Jason likes," she said. "Just because we are Jason's girl doesn't mean both of us have to listen to him. You chose him for us, now you follow the rules and be the good girlfriend. Let me have my fun though."  
  
"You can't just do that," Lane said. "You keep forgetting that you are me. If you do something, he'll get mad at me too."  
  
"Then stop caring about what Jason thinks," Lina said before hanging up the phone. "Sorry Lane," she said to herself. "But I'm sick of having my fun through you."  
  
Max got off of the bus at the stop nearest to Tyson and Kenny's neighborhood. He stepped off and looked around. The day was so beautiful and should have been a happier one. Why wasn't he happy anyway? His best friend could hear again, after the hardest month of his life. He should have been happy, but he wasn't. He couldn't shake the feeling from the pit of his stomach, the same feeling that he knew everyone else had. It was the feeling that something awry was going to happen. Something was not right about it.  
  
Max first walked to Kenny's house to find him and tell him about Tyson. After about 5 minutes of walking, he was standing in front of Kenny's door. He stared at it for a bit, preparing himself for Kenny's reaction to the day's events. He sighed as he knocked on it. A few moments later the door was opened by a short, chubby woman with brown hair, Kenny's mother. "Oh hello Max," she greeted warmly.  
  
"Hi," Max responded. "Is Kenny home?"  
  
"No," she replied. "I believe he went to Tyson's house already to see if you kids were all ready to train for today. He left about ten minutes ago. Didn't you see him on your way here?"  
  
"Actually no," Max said. "I didn't come from Tyson's house. No one is home there. I just came to tell Kenny that Tyson was taken to the hospital this morning."  
  
"Oh dear," she gasped. "Is the poor boy alright?"  
  
Max frowned. "He's fine," he said hesitantly. "I guess I should go find Kenny and tell him about it. If he comes back tell him I'm looking for him please."  
  
"Yes," Kenny's mother replied. "Of course I will. I hope Tyson is feeling better soon."  
  
Max started to walk off with her watching him sadly. "I'll tell him that," he said back to her. "Thank you." Max never passed Kenny on the way to Tyson's and was surprised to find that Kenny wasn't at the dojo. "Kenny," he called a few times. There was no response, and Max was about to go in and get himself a drink when he heard motion in the backyard. "Hey Kenny is that you?" he asked as he made his way to the yard. He looked around to see no Kenny, but there was another figure standing there, looking into the water. Max stopped in his tracks and just watched the person. He knew well who it was, but he couldn't believe she was actually there. Her long blue hair swayed gently in the breeze, and it was almost hypnotic watching her. "M-Mariam?" Max asked quietly.  
  
The girl turned around and faced Max. Her face was sad, and she looked as though she had been crying not long before. "Max," she said softly.  
  
"Wh- what are you doing here?" Max asked hesitantly.  
  
Mariam bit her lip. "I just came a few minutes ago," she said. "I can go if you want. I didn't think anyone was here."  
  
"No one was," Max told her. "And no I don't want you to go. Why are you here though?"  
  
"I…" Mariam couldn't find the words to complete her sentence. "Where were you just before?"  
  
"Tyson was taken to the hospital this morning," Max explained.  
  
"What?" Mariam asked. "Why?"  
  
"He passed out," Max said. "And then he had a seizure on the way there."  
  
"Oh shit," Mariam gasped. "Is he alright?"  
  
"Yee," Max said. "He says he feels fine, and the doctors are going to run some tests on him. The weird thing is, when he woke up, he could hear again."  
  
"But how?" Mariam asked curiously.  
  
"No one knows," Max told her.  
  
"Can I go see him?" Mariam asked. "He can have visitors right?"  
  
"Yea," Max said. "We can go back in a little while. I just want to talk to you first."  
  
"Ok," Mariam said, nodding.  
  
"Shouldn't you be back at your village?" Max asked. "Are Joseph and Ozuma here as well?"  
  
Mariam shook her head. "No," she said. "They don't even know I am. I… um… ran away from the village."  
  
Max looked at her with shock. "You ran away?" he repeated. "Why?"  
  
Mariam stared at him for a bit and then began to get teary-eyed. She turned away and looked back into the small pond she was standing at. "Ozuma," she said. "I left because of Ozuma. I had to leave."  
  
"What did he do?" Max asked angrily. Whatever Ozuma had done, Max would be ready to defend Mariam.  
  
"He followed the rules," Mariam said.   
  
Max stared on with a look of utter confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
"He said he loved me," Mariam said. It sounded like she was babbling to herself about what had happened. "But he lied. People always lie. He loved the village more than me. The rules mattered more than me. I wasn't enough for him, and now he's going to…" Mariam growled as she threw a rock into the water.  
  
"I don't understand what you're saying," Max said as he approached her. "You aren't making any sense. Everyone knew Ozuma loved you."  
  
Mariam turned back to him. "Not enough," she told him. Her eyes glistened with un-spilt tears.  
  
"What did he do Mariam?" Max asked again.  
  
"The village was so proud of him when we came back," she said, her voice venomous with anger. "They decided that he, being the village hero, should become the leader."  
  
"Ok," Max said slowly. "And what does that mean for the two of you?"  
  
"Well," Mariam said. "Ozuma and I are both of marrying age, and are considered adults. We were going to marry when we got home."  
  
"You were what?!" Max exclaimed jealously. "To Ozuma?"  
  
"I was going to marry him," Mariam said softly. "We loved each other." She sighed and looked at her feet. "I thought we did. I guess I was wrong. He wanted to have power more than he wanted to have me."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Max asked.  
  
"In order to become village leader you have to be related to the family," Mariam said.  
  
"What family?" Max asked.  
  
"The leader's family," Mariam told him. "But Ozuma wasn't part of it. If he was going to be, he had to marry the leader's daughter."  
  
"What is she like a princess or something?" Max wondered.  
  
"Yea," Mariam said.  
  
"So Ozuma is actually doing it?" Max asked incredulously. "After you two had plans to marry?"  
  
"Yes," Mariam said sadly. "At first I asked him not to. I asked him to run away with me, but he said no. He told me that he wanted to lead our people. And I accepted it. I told him to do as he felt best. He chose her. I couldn't stay there and watch it happen though."  
  
Max was dumbfounded. He shook his head. "I'm sorry Mariam," he said sadly.  
  
"Why?" Mariam asked. "You didn't do anything."  
  
"I know," Max said. "But I still feel bad." There was a long silence between them, until Max spoke up again. "You know, Mariam," he said. "Ozuma must be an idiot. No sane person would give you up once they had you."  
  
"Why wouldn't they?" Mariam asked.  
  
"Because you're better than that," Max told her with a small smile.  
  
"Thanks," Mariam said.  
  
"So... um… Where are you staying?" Max asked.  
  
Mariam shrugged. "I'm not really sure," she said. "I might go back to where we all stayed before."  
  
"By yourself?" Max asked. "No way. I bet Grandpa will let you stay here for a while."  
  
"I don't know Max," Mariam said unsurely. "I really don't want to be a burden on him."  
  
"He'll let you stay," Max told her. "I want you to stay here with us."  
  
Mariam looked at him for a bit before nodding silently. Max smiled. "Come on," he told her. "Let's go inside. We can wait for everyone to get home."  
  
Well… Mariam is back. I think I might bring Joseph into the story eventually. I'm not sure. I'm sorry if you didn't like the whole thing there, but I didn't want this story to be Mariam/Ozuma. I did hint towards that in the previous story, but I decided that for the purposes of this story they wouldn't really work. I figured that I should write her return like that, because no one really knows what the Saint Shields' village is like. I pictured it being like a tribe of people, such as how Native Americans or other groups of people worked. I figured that Ozuma would be a good leader for it, and I decided to make them follow customs and traditions. Ozuma is a character I see as one to follow tradition and stick to his usual way of life. I also really wanted Max to find somebody in this story without having to add another character. And I wasn't going to make it a guy, because I don't do yaoi. I really like Mariam/Max pairing, and there is a possibility for this story to have that pairing. I'm still deciding on whether to make it a pairing or to develop more on their close friendship, like that started to on the show. So… sorry if you didn't like her return, but that's how I wanted it to happen. 


	5. New Relationships?

Hey!! I havent been updating a lot lately and I'm so sorry! I've been so busy lately! And on top of that… I have a bad case of writer's block. But I finally came up with the chapter. So here's chapter 5...  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
Ray and Mariah were surprised to see Mr. Dickenson was picking them up. They were even more surprised when the normally friendly old man seemed to be upset over something. "Hey Mr. Dickenson," Ray said as he approached. "I thought Mr. Granger was going to pick us up today."  
  
"Something came up Ray," Mr. Dickenson replied sadly.  
  
"Oh," Ray said. "Well my doctor needs to talk to you."  
  
"Ok," Mr. Dickenson said. "Hopefully it will be quick, because we do need to hurry."  
  
"Why?" Mariah asked curiously. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"I will explain on the way," Mr. Dickenson said. "Now where is your doctor Ray?"  
  
Ray pointed over to a man with short black hair. Mr. Dickenson went up to the man. "Hello," he said. "I am here to pick up Ray Kon. He said you wished to speak with me."  
  
Ray and Mariah watched Mr. Dickenson curiously. "I wonder what's wrong with him," Mariah said.  
  
"I hope it's not too bad," Ray said. He continued watching the doctor and Mr. Dickenson talk. "I bet he's telling Mr. D that I don't need these crutches anymore."   
  
Just at that moment Mr. Dickenson came walking over. "Let's go to the car," he said, leading them out.  
  
"Wishful thinking Kon," Mariah said to her boyfriend playfully. Ray sighed as he got out of his seat and used his crutches to follow.  
  
Once in the car, Mr. Dickenson turned to Ray and Mariah, sitting in the back seat. "Your doctor said that you don't need to use those crutches that often anymore," he told Ray. Ray smiled triumphantly at Mariah. "I told you," he said mockingly.  
  
Mariah rolled her eyes and turned back the Mr. Dickenson. "So," she said. "What's wrong? You seem a bit upset."  
  
Mr. Dickenson sighed. "Tyson got very sick this morning," he said sadly. "He fainted and was taken to the hospital."  
  
"What?" Ray asked. "Is he ok? What's wrong with him?" Ray smacked his forehead. "Damn it! I knew something was wrong with him this morning!"  
  
"Language Ray," Mr. Dickenson warned. "I have heard no news yet as to why it happened, but Kai called me from the hospital. Apparently Tyson had a seizure."  
  
"Oh my God," Mariah gasped. Ray just gaped at Mr. Dickenson like he had grown an extra head. Mariah grabbed Ray's hand. "I'm sure he's fine," she said, though her voice lacked its usual confidence.  
  
Ray nodded meekly as Mr. Dickenson started the car. "I'm going to take the two of you to the hospital to see him," he told them. Ray and Mariah nodded in response to him.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Grandpa knocked on the door of Tyson's rooms as he opened it. He walked over to his grandson's bedside and faked a small smile. "Hey there," he said to him. "How you holding up little dude?" He sighed and rolled his eyes at himself. He was still unaware that Tyson could hear him again. Tyson hadn't been looking at him, so he thought he hadn't realized he'd spoken.  
  
"I'd be better if I knew what was wrong with me," Tyson said quietly, bringing his eyes up to look at his grandfather. "What happened to me?"  
  
Grandpa stared at him with disbelief. "Wha-"  
  
"He can hear again," Kai said, cutting him off.  
  
"How?" Grandpa asked. "The doctor didn't say anything about it."  
  
"We don't know," Hilary said.  
  
"I can't believe it," Grandpa said.   
  
"What is wrong with me?" Tyson asked his grandfather.  
  
Grandpa just looked at him for a second, still letting the news sink in. "Umm.." he said slowly as he overcame the shock. "They don't know yet," he said.  
  
Tyson's already serious face deepened with worry. "I want to know what happened to me," he said. He looked at his grandfather suspiciously. "You do know something don't you?" he asked, seeing as Grandpa looked very concerned.  
  
Grandpa shook his head. "But I have a feeling that the doctor does," he said. "And if he does, that dude isn't telling me what it is. He said that he needs to run and MRI on you tomorrow."  
  
"Does he have to stay the night?" Hilary asked.  
  
"Yes," Grandpa said. "But the doctor said he probably won't have to stay tomorrow if things go well."  
  
"Well maybe nothing is wrong with him," Hilary said hopefully.  
  
Tyson looked at her sadly. He wanted to tell her she could be right, but he knew he'd been lying. "No," he said as he looked down at his hands. "Something is wrong with me."  
  
"How do you know?" Hilary asked. "You're just worried because of the seizure, but maybe that had something to do with you getting your hearing back or something."  
  
"No," Tyson said again. "I was telling Kai and Max earlier that I thought something was wrong. I'm not paranoid about it." He looked back into her eyes when he felt hers searching his face. "Hilary, I don't know what, but something is…"  
  
"Off," she finished for him with a disappointed tone in her voice. Despite the urge to cry onto his shoulder at the thought of something being wrong with him, she offered a soft smile to him as some comfort. "I hope not," she said. "I really hope nothing is wrong with you. But if it is, we'll get through it. We've gotten through a lot together."  
  
"Hil," Tyson said. "I just have this feeling that something bad might happen. Maybe not to me," he added. "But I can feel it. Something bad is coming. Something is going to go wrong." He sighed. "I have no idea why, but that's how I feel."  
  
Hilary gave him a strange look. "I don't know what you mean," she said quietly.  
  
"I do," Kai said suddenly. "I have the same feeling. Something just isn't right, and I can't put my finger on it either. I don't know what is going to happen, but I think it is going to happen soon."  
  
Tyson nodded his agreement and frowned. Grandpa sighed. "Don't worry little dudes," he said in a would-be-cheerful voice. "Everything will be fi-"  
  
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," Tyson said.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Ray, Mariah and Mr. Dickenson immediately rushed to the front desk to ask for Tyson's room number when they arrived at the hospital. And they took no hesitation in making their way to his room once they knew where it was. As they stood before the door, Mr. Dickenson knocked softly.  
  
"Come in," a voice inside answered. Mariah and Ray looked at each other with confusion. "Was that..?" Mariah said.  
  
"Tyson?" Ray finished for her. "But it couldn't be…"  
  
Mr. Dickenson too was looking quite dumb-founded. He was just staring at the door as if waiting to hear the response again. How was it possible for Tyson to have known he'd knocked on the door? After about a minute the door was opened by someone from the inside. The new visitors were greeted by Kai's inquisitive face, looking at them as if they were crazy. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you plan on coming inside?"  
  
Ray snapped out of his stupor and looked at Kai with question. "Did Tyson answer?" he asked slowly. "Kai what's going on?"  
  
Kai's hard gaze softened a bit as he realized what they'd been reacting to. He looked inside the room at Tyson, whose eyes were trained on the blanket covering his lap, and then he looked back at the others and slipped into the hall, closing the door behind him.  
  
Mariah tilted her head slightly to the side. "What happened Hiwatari?"  
  
"I'm not really sure," Kai said softly, trying not to be loud enough for the people inside the room to hear. "The doctor's don't know what is wrong with Tyson, but they're running tests tomorrow. And... Well…"  
  
"What else is going on?" Mr. Dickenson asked curiously.  
  
"He can hear," Kai said.  
  
Kai was met with an awe-struck silence until Ray responded. "How?"  
  
Kai shrugged. "Can't explain that either," he said. He looked around and something caught his eye down the hall. He sighed and turned back to the others. "Why don't the three of you go in and see him? I'm going to go for a quick walk to clear my head. You can tell them I'll be back soon."  
  
"Ok," Mariah responded. "Come on Ray. You need to sit down. You can't be putting too much weight on your leg." She led Ray into the room.  
  
Kai rolled his eyes as he walked away. It annoyed him how much Mariah babied Ray. Kai stopped walking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mr. Dickenson looking at him. "Are you alright?" he asked  
  
Kai looked at the old man curiously and nodded. "I'm fine," he assured him. "I just need to go do something. I'll be right back."  
  
Mr. Dickenson nodded. "Don't be too long," he said as he himself went into the room.  
  
Kai walked down the hall towards the person who had caught his eye, the person with long purple hair and purple eyes. The girl was leaning against a wall staring in Kai's direction. She smiled when she saw him coming her way. "How's it going Hiwatari?" she asked flirtatiously.  
  
Kai's facial expression remained indifferent. "Why are you here?" he asked. "I saw you watching us earlier."  
  
Lina half-smiled. "Did you?" she asked.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what your deal is, or will you leave us alone now?" Kai asked.  
  
Lina pretended to look worried. "I came to see a friend of mine," she said. "He's really sick, but I wasn't allowed in to see him. So I am waiting for news on how he's doing."  
  
"Oh," Kai said. "Sorry."  
  
"That's ok," Lina said, picking her mood back up to its usual happiness. "So, which one of your friends is in here?"  
  
Kai looked at her, unsure of whether or not to share information, but in the end he decided that she seemed nice enough. "Tyson," he said a bit more gruffly than he had intended to.  
  
"He's one of your teammates isn't he?" Lina asked, pretending to be shocked.  
  
Kai nodded. "They haven't figured out what's wrong with him yet," he told her.  
  
"That sucks," Lina said. "I guess I kind of know how you feel though huh?"  
  
"I guess," Kai said dully. Lina grinned and giggled a bit, causing Kai to look at her oddly. "What?" he asked.  
  
"It's nothing," Lina replied. "Just that you don't seem too friendly on the TV."  
  
"That's because I'm not," Kai replied, the tone of his voice still dull and bored. "In fact, I really should be going now." He attempted to walk back to Tyson's room but was stopped by Lina.  
  
"Trying to protect your cold hard reputation?" Lina asked a dangerous tone as if daring him to walk away from her. When Kai looked back at her she smiled at him again. "Come on," she said. "I'm not that bad am I? I kind of thought we were getting along fine."  
  
"I never said we weren't," Kai said. "I just have to go."  
  
Lina let go of his arm. "Alright," she said. "We should talk again sometime. You're not a bad guy."  
  
Kai looked at her for a minute. "Ok," he said after a bit. "I guess that's fine."  
  
Lina grinned happily. "See ya around Hiwatari," she said as he walked away.  
  
"Bye Lina," Kai replied quietly as he closed the door to Tyson's room behind him.  
  
"Lina?" Ray asked, his sensitive hearing having picked up what Kai had said. "Who's that?"  
  
"Some girl that I met out in the hall," Kai replied. "It's not important." He looked at Tyson, who seemed exhausted by now. "Guys I think maybe we should go home. We need to get something to eat."  
  
"Yes," Mr. Dickenson replied. "That would probably be best. I doubt any of you have had lunch yet, and we can come back afterwards to see Tyson again."  
  
"I'll stay with the little dude," Grandpa said. Hilary nodded her head in agreement that she would stay as well. "See you guys later," she said to the others.  
  
Ray, Mariah, and Mr. Dickenson all followed Kai out of the room and to the car. On the way, Kai noticed that Lina had disappeared from the hall. What was strange to him was that he actually wished she hadn't, but he just shook off the feeling.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Mr. Dickenson dropped the three teens off at Tyson's house, telling them he would be back in a couple of hours to take them to see Tyson. Kai walked off on his own for a while once everyone got out of the car. Ray and Mariah watched him walk off, but then went into the house together. They went to the kitchen to grab something to eat, and Mariah opened the fridge while Ray sat down. Mariah was about to pull out some drinks when they heard a sound from the living room. Ray and Mariah both strained their ears to hear what was going on.  
  
"…. could he… her… I thought….he…. Me…" was all they could pick up at first. Ray stood up and leaned on Mariah a bit for some support walking. Ray recognized the voice a bit more than Mariah did, though they both knew it was a female's.   
  
As they walked to the room they heard a voice they definitely recognized as Max's. "I told you already that he's crazy. Any guy that would let you go is. If I had you I would never…"  
  
"You would never do that to me?" Mariam asked as Ray and Mariah got there just in time to see Max shake his head and whisper "never" before moving in closer to Mariam. Mariam and Max met in a soft kiss, gently brushing the other's lips with their own. Ray and Mariah froze in the doorway and turned to each other with wide eyes. 


	6. An Escape and Lots to Think About

Lane knocked on the door to Dr. B's office, which Jason had cleaned up to temporarily use as his own. "Jason," she said as she entered.  
"Yes?" Jason answered. He was sitting behind a desk and looked up at her. "Is everything going smoothly?"  
  
Lane shook her head. "Not exactly," she said nervously. "Tyson had a seizure on the way to the hospital and now the doctors want to run tests."  
  
"Will the chemical show up on the tests if it's active?" Jason asked.  
  
"Yes," Lane said. "And since it just went into effect I can't stop the process."  
  
Jason stood up and looked out of the window to think. "Can you speed it up then?" he asked.  
  
"Speed it up?" Lane repeated. "Do you mean take control faster?"  
  
Jason nodded. "Take him over and get him out of that hospital by any means necessary," he said.  
  
Lane stared at him, dumb-founded. "Haven't you listened to a word I have said the past couple of days?" she asked angrily. "I would have to higher the intensity of the chemical signals. Don't you know what will happen if I do that?"  
  
"Of course I know," Jason replied calmly. "He'll probably die."  
  
"Probably?" Lane asked. "Try definitely. That intensity killed someone three times his size!"  
  
"You are forgetting something though Lane," Jason told her. "Tyson is no ordinary boy. He can handle more than someone ten times his size. He is linked to one of the four sacred bit beasts."  
  
"Even Dragoon can't save him from such a terrible fate if you make me do this!" Lane snapped.  
  
"Well that's a risk I am willing to take!" Jason shouted at her as he turned around. He raised his hand so that the back of it was towards her face, ready to hit her. Lane closed her eyes as she waited for the impact to come. Jason pulled away as he saw the fear on her face. What was he doing? He'd never hit her before. What kind of person was he turning into? "Go do your job," he said softly. "Now." Lane opened her eyes and quickly ran back to the lab to do as Jason had ordered.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
"Max?" Mariah said at the same time as Ray said, "Mariam?"  
  
The two kissing on the couch turned to their friends. They both blushed instantly and Max looked at his feet. "Uhh…" he mumbled. "Hey guys…"  
  
"What are you two doing?!" Mariah asked.  
  
"I… uh…" Max stuttered nervously. "We… were just… ummm… Well… Mariam is back in town."  
  
"I can see that," Ray said. "But why? And what were you two doing kissing?"  
  
"Yea," Mariah said. "I don't think Ozuma would be very happy to see this."  
  
"Well Ozuma isn't in the picture anymore," Mariam said briskly. "So, don't worry about it."  
  
"Ok," Mariah said. "That answers one question. But what are you doing here?"  
  
"I… ummm…" Mariam said, appearing to do an impression of Max's previous performance. "Well…"  
  
"It's complicated," Max said for her. "And I think that right now she'd rather not say." There was a long, awkward silence between the four teenagers.  
  
"Ok," Ray said slowly. "So we'll… uh… let you get… back to what you were… doing…" He proceeded to lead Mariah out of the room.  
  
"Wait Ray," Max said. "Is Grandpa back yet? I want to ask him if Mariam can stay here for a while."  
  
"No," Ray said. "We're the only ones back here. Hilary and Grandpa stayed at the hospital with Tyson."  
  
"Where did Kai go?" Max asked.  
  
Ray just shrugged. "Did you ever get a hold of Kenny?"  
  
Max smacked his forehead. "Shoot! I forgot. I told his mom, because he wasn't at home, but I never found out if he knows yet."  
  
As if on cue, Max saw a quick blur run into the room and grab his shirt. Max looked down to see a small, frantic boy staring at him. "My mom just told me what happened!" Kenny said. "Is Tyson alright?"  
  
"He's fine," Mariah said passively. "Calm down."  
  
Kenny let go of Max's shirt and stepped back. "Are you sure?" he asked. "What's wrong with him?"  
  
"We don't know yet," Max said. "But I'm sure he'll be fine."  
  
Kenny nodded his head nervously, though he wasn't so sure that Max was right. "Can we go see him?" he asked. "Does he want visi-" He stopped talking when he saw Mariam there. "Mariam? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well," Mariah said. "Apparently she wasn't doing anything that would make Ozuma mad."  
  
Kenny raised an eyebrow as Ray gave his girlfriend a warning look. "She's here to visit," Max said. "And for the trial, I guess."  
  
"Oh," Kenny said. "It's nice to see you again Mariam. How are Ozuma and Joseph? Are they here too?"  
  
"They aren't here," Mariam said. "Joseph's doing great. I guess Ozuma's doing ok," she added in a tone that was hard to interpret.  
  
"Are they going to come too?" Kenny asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Mariam replied. She was beginning to feel awkward in the situation. She looked at Max. "Max I think I'm going to go for a walk."  
  
"I'll go with you," Max said. He and Mariam walked out the door. "See you guys later."  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Tyson was in a daze, lost in his own thoughts, while Hilary and Grandpa sat by his side quietly. Tyson looked up at Hilary when he felt her hand squeeze his own, and he frowned. "I'm sorry Hilary," he said.  
  
"Why?" Hilary asked. She tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion.  
  
"I don't want you to have to worry about me," Tyson told her. "And all I do is make you worry."  
  
Hilary shook her head. "It isn't your fault Tyson," she said softly.  
  
Tyson looked at his lap. His eyes suddenly glazed over like they had back at his house. "Tyson?" Grandpa asked. "You ok?"  
  
Tyson didn't respond to him. He just kept staring at his lap as if something interesting were resting upon it. Suddenly something clicked in his head and he slowly lifted his eyes to look at the others. "Get out," he whispered.  
  
"What?" a somewhat bewildered Hilary asked.  
  
"Get out," Tyson repeated. "I want to be alone for a while."  
  
"Why?" Hilary asked.  
  
"Because I said so," Tyson hissed. "Now get out."  
  
Grandpa tugged on Hilary's arm and pulled her out of the room. Once the door was closed, Hilary tried desperately to go back in, but Grandpa held her back. "What are you doing?" she asked in a demanding tone.  
  
"Give the little dude his space," Grandpa said. "He just needs to think. You know him. He's always been like that."  
  
"But why is he pushing me away?" Hilary asked. "He's never done that before."  
  
"Just give him space," Grandpa told her again. "Come on. Let's go get some lunch. Everyone else will be back soon, and then we can all go in and hang out with Ty."  
  
Hilary looked at the door unsurely for a second before nodding to him. "But I want to come back soon," she said.  
  
"We'll be back before you know it," Grandpa told her as he led her down the hall.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Tyson watched his visitors leave the room and waited to hear them walk down the hall. Once he felt he was in the clear he got up and searched for the clothes that he had been wearing before he was checked into the hospital. He took no haste in changing into them as soon as he had found them, and he looked around the room for a way to escape.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Lina walked into the lab in such a happy mood that Lane eyed her suspiciously from the computer that she was sitting at. "What are you so happy about?" she asked.  
  
Lina smiled as she pulled up a chair to sit in. "Nothing," she said lazily. "Just… oh… never mind…"  
  
"What did you do?" Lane asked accusingly.  
  
Lina pretended to look offended. "Me?" she asked in a bittersweet voice. "What on earth would I ever do?"  
  
Lane narrowed her eyes. "You were talking to one of those boys weren't you?" she asked.  
  
"Is that a crime now?" Lina asked sarcastically. "What's the punishment these days?"  
  
Lane turned back to the computer screen and rolled her eyes. "You know that it will make Jason angry Lina," she said.  
  
"Yea," Lina replied. "Is there a point to that?"  
  
Lane looked back at her angrily. "I can take you back you know!!" she yelled. "If you keep on doing things that you aren't supposed to-"  
  
"I'm only doing the things you wish you would do!" Lina said curtly. "Remember? I am you, so there is no hiding that my interests intrigue you as well. I'm just the side that's willing to actually risk it. We both know that there is nothing wrong with that. It just bothers Jason because he knows that what I think is the same as what you think."  
  
"Then that means that you know it's wrong," Lane said. "Because if you are me, then we would be cheating on Jason if you were with one of those boys."  
  
"Well maybe Jason deserves to be cheated on," Lina argued. She frowned and sighed. "That's something I don't get. Why do you care so much about hurting that guy when I don't? We should have the same feelings about it."  
  
"That's because there are some differences between us," Lane told her. "You know that. I care because I'm the one that has morals."  
  
Lina laughed. "Some morals you have!" she mocked. "Since when does Jason fit into any system of morality? He's a bad guy." She saw the nervous look on Lane's face when she said that. "And something tells me that you think so too, but you're afraid to see it."  
  
"Stop that!" Lane yelled. "If you keep doing things like this, I'll make you go away just as easily as I made you happen!" Lane looked away and went back to her computer.  
  
Lina stood and walked over to her. "Lane, does it bother you that we're doing this?" she asked.  
  
"Doing what?" Lane asked.  
  
"Ruining someone's life," Lina said. "I mean, at first the whole evil plot thing seemed kind of fun, but now, it just seems wrong. I know I've only talked to one of them, but I really liked him. And they all seem like nice people. It kind of makes me feel bad."  
  
"Yea," Lane replied. "Me too."  
  
"Then why do we listen to him?" Lina asked. "Why do we keep doing what Jason says?"  
  
"Because we love him," Lane told her. "Or at least…" She trailed off.  
  
"At least we love who he used to be," Lina finished for her. "He used to be a good guy, but he isn't anymore."  
  
Lane pounded her fist on the desk. "I hate his father!" she yelled. "This is all his fault. If he had just acted like he cared about Jason, Jason wouldn't have turned into this person. He wouldn't still be turning into someone we don't like."  
  
"I guess that's why Jason wants to get him out," Lina said. "He probably thinks that if we save his father, he'll actually be proud of him."  
  
Lane nodded. "And if that isn't a good reason to help Jason," she said. "I don't know what is. If there is any chance that we can help him be who he used to be, then we have to take it. I love him too much to let go of the opportunity."  
  
"Yea," Lina finally agreed. She turned and walked to a window. "But what about Kai?" she asked herself quietly. "Where does he fit in?" She looked back at Lane, who was working on the computer again. Lina didn't know why, but she had feelings for the boy that she had just met. She wondered if Lane would have felt that way about Kai as well, but she had a feeling that she might not. Lina had a theory that there really was a difference between her and Lane other than the fact that she herself was a bit more rambunctious. Lina couldn't feel the way Lane could for Jason, though she did understand how Lane felt about him. That gave Lina the idea that there was a reason for what had happened to her and Lane. Lane was in love with the past. And Lina? What was her purpose? Lina thought that maybe she had found the future. But was the future Kai?  
  
Lina didn't know the answer to her own question. All she knew was that she wanted to see Kai again. With one last look at Lane, Lina left the laboratory in search of her newly found interest, hoping that maybe she might find him still at the hospital.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Hilary and Grandpa finished their lunches before the others returned, so they decided to go back to Tyson's room alone. Hilary paused at the door and looked at Grandpa. "Hopefully he's in a better mood," she said before turning the knob to find what she hadn't expected.  
  
Inside the room an empty bed was left unmade and the curtains of the open window swayed slightly in a breeze from outside. Hilary ran to the window and looked out desperately. The window was three floors up, and there was no way anyone could have jumped from there. Where had Tyson gone?  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Tyson walked through the hospital with his eyes on the ground. He had his hat, which was usually worn on his head backwards, faced in the opposite direction to shield his face as much as he possibly could so he wouldn't be seen.  
  
He got a few strange looks from people as he walked by, looking so suspicious, but he eventually made it out of the building with no trouble. Once outside, he ran to the bus stop and checked his pocket for money, fortunately having enough.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Kai wondered around the neighborhood by himself for a while with a lot of things on his mind. The first thing on his mind was obviously Tyson. No one knew what was wrong with him or how bad it might be, and that worried Kai. Also, Kai was worried about the trial in two days. Tyson and the rest of the teens needed to testify to put Gideon away for good, but now Kai didn't know if Tyson would be up to it. And then there was something else on his mind, which he didn't expect to be there. What was it about that Lina girl?  
  
Kai didn't have time to think about it, because he saw something familiar run by. "Tyson?" he called as he followed the person down the street towards the dojo. He could have sworn he'd seen the person take a short cut through some yards and was about to follow, but someone in a different direction called his name.  
  
Kai looked in the direction to see Max and Mariam heading his way. He glanced back towards the direction he'd been going in, but the person was gone. 


	7. A Blader's Most Prized Possession

Mariah, Ray and Kenny just stood around looking very confused after Mariam and Max ran out. "Ok," Ray said slowly with a strange tone of sarcasm.  
  
"That was a little weird," Mariah said, voicing everyone's opinion.  
  
"You said it," Kenny replied. "Um, guys, are we going to go see Tyson?"  
  
"Mr. Dickenson is going to pick us back up in a while," Ray told him. "He wanted to give us enough time to eat lunch."  
  
"Ok," Kenny said. "Where is everyone else then?"  
  
"Hilary and Mr. Granger are at the hospital with Tyson," Mariah told him. "And Kai just went off on his own."  
  
"Nothing new there," Ray commented. "But I'm sure he'll be back in time to go see Tyson ag-" He was cut off by the telephone ringing.  
  
"I'll get that," Kenny said as he ran off to the phone. "Hello? Granger residence."  
  
Ray and Mariah went back to the kitchen to sit down. "I wonder what's up with Mariam," Mariah said curiously. "She was acting a little weird about Ozuma wasn't she?"  
  
"Yea, maybe they got in a fight," Ray suggested.  
  
"And Max was certainly helping to solve it," Mariah said stiffly. Never having been one for disloyalty, she didn't like the idea of anyone being unfaithful.  
  
"Well you know Max wouldn't do anything like that if there had been someone else," Ray told her. "I bet that Ozuma is out of the picture, or else he wouldn't have done that."  
  
"Yea," Mariah agreed. "Max isn't a jerk like that. He would never-"  
  
"Guys!" Kenny yelled as he came into the room. "Tyson ran away from the hospital! No one knows where he is!"  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
Mariam and Max decided to walk around the block a few times to get away from the others. "You going to tell them what happened?" Max asked Mariam.  
  
Mariam, keeping her eyes on the ground ahead of her, bit her lip and shook her head. "Just tell them that we broke up," she said softly. "The whole story is too complicated to explain to them."  
  
"Yea," Max replied. "I'm sorry if Kenny upset you back there by asking all of those questions."  
  
"That's not your fault," Mariam said. "People do like to ask questions when they don't know all of the facts, you know."  
  
Max smiled. "Yup," he said. "So do you mind if I ask a question?"  
  
"You just did didn't you?" Mariam pointed out.  
  
"Well," Max said slowly. "About what happened back there…" He paused, not knowing how to word it.  
  
"You want to know if I meant it," Mariam stated, more than asked. She looked into Max's eyes. "Look Max. A lot of people do things that they don't mean. Some of them give up things they love or claim they love something they never cared about. The whole world is full of people that do things they don't mean. But some people act on their real feelings too."  
  
Max stared back into her eyes, admiring the beauty brought to them by their bright jade color. "So where does that put us?" he asked her. "Where do we fit into that?"  
  
Mariam smiled. "What I'm saying is," she told him, "I meant it."  
  
Max grinned and kissed her on the cheek softly. "Good," he told her. "Because I did too."  
  
They held each other's hand and continued to walk together in a happy silence until they saw someone up ahead of them. Kai looked like he was searching for something as he came running and was about to go through someone's yard. "Kai!" Max yelled. Kai stopped and looked at Max and Mariam for a second before glancing back at the yard. Then he looked back at the pair approaching him and stayed put.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kai asked Mariam, as she and Max reached him.  
  
"I'm just visiting for a while," Mariam told him. She didn't feel uneasy because she knew that Kai wasn't nosy enough to ask more questions about it, especially after having seen her holding hands with Max. She was sure that Kai knew enough of what was going on and that he wouldn't have to ask.  
  
"What were you doing?" Max asked Kai.  
  
Kai looked back towards the yard and then at Max. "I just thought that I saw something," he said.  
  
"What was it?" Max asked as he looked at the yard as well.  
  
"Nothing," Kai said. "I just thought Tyson ran by. That's all."  
  
Max looked at him oddly. "Why would Tyson be running by?" he asked. "He's back at the hospit-"  
  
"Max!" someone cried. "Kai! Mariam!"  
  
The three turned around to see Mariah running towards them. She stopped in front of them and took a minute to catch her breath. "Hilary… called…" she panted. "Tyson… ran aw…ay… from… hos…pital…"  
  
"What?!" Kai and Max exclaimed in unison. They both glanced at each other and then at the yard, and Kai took off in the direction he thought he'd seen his friend run in. "Max!" he yelled. "You guys go back to the house the other way and see if you can cut him off if that is where he's headed!"  
  
Max immediately did as Kai said. Mariah and Mariam followed him back to the house. Kai continued running until he was halfway to the dojo. He looked around the yard he was standing in to see a lot of trees and bushes to hide behind. He was unaware of a pair of dull brown eyes watching him from nearby. "Tyson," Kai said in a soft voice. "I know you're around here somewhere." Kai walked over to a group of trees backwards, while staring at the area around them. "What are you doing Tyson? What are you playing at?" Kai heard rustling from behind some bushes and looked in the direction. He concentrated hard and could hear the faint sound of breathing.  
  
Tyson covered his mouth to hush the sound of his breathing as he watched Kai from his hiding place. He slowly backed away from the bushes and glanced back behind him to see more trees that he could hide behind, but the only problem was that if he went in that direction, he would be further from his destination and Kai could eventually catch him. He looked around more and saw another path of escape to the right of the other trees if he could make it there without being spotted by Kai.  
  
"Why run away from the hospital?" Kai asked as he approached the bushes.  
  
Tyson held his breath as he slowly backed up to the trees behind him. He hid himself behind them and looked for a chance to go the other way. He bit his lip to keep himself from groaning when he kneeled on something sharp. He looked down at the ground to see a small pile of rocks that had come off of a path through the trees.  
  
"Tyson," Kai called again. "Just come out. What on earth are you doing out here? You should be back at the hospital. You can't be wondering around in your condition, especially not 2 days before the trial against Gideon."  
  
Tyson picked up two rocks and threw them towards a group of trees to his left. Kai's head snapped in the direction of where he'd heard the rocks hit the trees. He walked over to the trees while Tyson watched. Once Tyson thought Kai was far enough from him, he quietly slipped away, or tried to at least. Not being as careful as he thought he was being, Tyson stepped on a stick, causing Kai's attention to turn to the source of the snapping sound.  
  
Kai looked up just in time to see Tyson running away towards the dojo and he chased after him. 'Why the hell would he run to his house if he doesn't want us to find him?' he thought to himself as he chased after his friend.  
  
Tyson didn't look back to see if Kai was following him. He just kept running to his house. He finally found himself be the pond in his backyard and tried to run to the house until he heard voices. He quickly ducked behind some bushes just before Max, Mariam and Mariah came into the yard. He cursed quietly to himself as they stood around looking for him. "Tyson?" Max called. "Are you out here?"  
  
Tyson moved a bit behind the trees to get a clearer view of the others and saw Kai run into the yard. "He came this way," Kai said. "He gave me the slip back there."  
  
"Maybe he already got into the house," Mariam said as she ran inside to look for him.  
  
"I think he's still out here somewhere," Kai said. He and the others began to look for Tyson in the yard.  
  
Mariah started to sniffle and Kai gave her an odd look. "What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I can smell him, stupid," Mariah replied as she started to walk towards the bushes.  
  
"Oh of course," Kai said sarcastically. "Why didn't I think of that?"  
  
Mariah glared at him. "Just shut up," she said angrily. She pointed to the bushes. "He's right there."  
  
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Lane looked at the screen in confusion as it showed Tyson's location at his house. "Jason?" she asked her boyfriend, who was standing behind her. "What's going on? I thought he was coming here. I have him under complete control. He should be here."  
  
Jason smirked let out a small chuckle. "Even under mind control," he said, "a good beyblader never leaves behind his most prized possession."  
  
Lane looked back at the screen with confusion as she thought about it. "Oh," she said softly to herself as she realized what Jason was saying. "Wow that is one powerful connection then. Stronger than I would have imagined."  
  
Jason nodded. "And when he gets here we can use it to our advantage," he said.  
  
Lane frowned as she looked at him. "I thought we were just going to use him for the trial!" she said.  
  
"Come now Lane," Jason said. "Do you honestly expect me to just leave this good opportunity to make my father proud to waste?"  
  
Lane turned her back on him. "I'm beginning to like this plan less by the second," she mumbled to herself.  
  
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Kai rolled his eyes at Mariah and walked slowly towards the bushes. Tyson cursed again, knowing he'd been caught. He felt something underneath his hand and realized it was one of the blades of a demolished beyblade. He picked it up and held it in his hand so tightly that he bled, but it didn't seem to phase him at all. Kai slowly crouched down in front of the bushes.  
  
Mariam came running back out of the house, followed by Ray and Kenny. "He's nowhere in there," she said.  
  
Kai turned around to face her and was caught off-guard when Tyson grabbed him around the neck with one arm and held the blade to his throat with the other. He forced him to stand up slowly and they faced the others. "What the hell are you doing?!" Kai asked him furiously.  
  
"Shut up," Tyson said coolly, not sounding at all bothered by what he was doing. "Or else I'll slit your throat." His voice held such venom that made what he said believable. It was nothing like Tyson's normal, cheery voice.  
  
"Why are you doing this Tyson?" Max asked fearfully. His big blue eyes watered a bit as he took in what was happening. His best friend was threatening to kill Kai. He looked into Tyson's eyes and saw how empty they were, not filled with their usual vivacity. "Tyson what's going on?" he asked desperately.  
  
"Go get Dragoon," Tyson said. "He wasn't with my stuff at the hospital. I want him right now."  
  
Ray stared at him oddly. "But Tyso-"  
  
"Just get it!" Tyson hissed. "If you don't Kai will pay for it."  
  
Kai shook his head lightly. "Tyson you really picked the wrong person to threaten," he said through gritted teeth. "I could easily stop you."  
  
"But you won't," Tyson replied. "You wouldn't do anything to hurt me. And they will do anything to make sure I don't kill you."  
  
"Oh will they?" Kai asked. "No one is going to get you Dragoon, Tyson. We're going to take you back to the hospital."  
  
"No you aren't!" Tyson yelled, as he tightened his grip on the blade and held it closer to Kai's throat. He grabbed a handful of Kai's hair and pulled his head back to give everyone a good view of where he planned to slice his throat. "Get Dragoon! NOW!"  
  
Max immediately ran into the house to get the demanded beyblade. While he was gone Tyson eyed the rest of the people suspiciously. "Why are you doing this?" Ray asked.  
  
"Stop asking questions," Tyson ordered. Max came running out with Dragoon in hand. "Hand him to me," Tyson said as he held out a hand a bit.  
  
Max inched towards him and put Dragoon in his hand. Tyson quickly pocketed it and, using Kai as a shield, backed away towards a place for escape. When he felt he was far enough he tried to push Kai away from him, but Kai grabbed Tyson's wrist. Unfortunately for Kai, he grabbed the wrist that wasn't holding the blade. Tyson quickly used his weapon to slash Kai across the abdomen. "Kai!" the others exclaimed as they ran up to him. Kenny ran inside though to call an ambulance.  
  
Kai let go of Tyson and put his hand against his bleeding stomach. He looked down and then back up at Tyson's retreating figure as it disappeared from his view. The pain of the cut suddenly shot through him, and he swayed a bit on his feet until Max steadied him. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you into the house. You're going to be fine buddy." Kai leaned heavily on Max and they went into the house. Mariam had the urge to follow Tyson, but followed her better judgement after what had just happened. She followed the others all into the house.

Inside, Max sat Kai on the couch and Mariah grabbed some towels and the first aid kit to tend to him with. "The ambulance is on the way!" Kenny said.

"I'll go wait outside for it," Ray said. "Call Mr. Dickenson. Tell him we'll need to be getting back to the hospital sooner than planned."

"Hilary and Mr. Granger are already on their way here," Kenny said. "They'll probably be here before the ambulance is."

"I don't need an ambulance," Kai said stubbornly. "I'll be okay."

Max kneeled before Kai and looked at the wound. It was bleeding profusely and looked to be quite deep. "Let's hope that ambulance gets here soon," he said. "This blood is coming out quickly."

Mariah came running in with the supplies. "Hand them here," Mariam said as she sat in front of Kai. "I'm good with this stuff. I can take care of it until the paramedics get here."

"Ok," Mariah said. Mariam took the stuff and opened it up in front of Kai. She took out some alcohol and opened it up. She placed the towel beneath the cut while she poured the alcohol on it. Kai hissed in pain. "Sorry," Mariam apologized sarcastically. "You'd think a tough guy like you could handle a little pain."

Kai rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," she said. "It doesn't hurt _that_ much."

"Really?" Mariam asked. "You could have fooled me." She pressed against the wound with the towel, trying to stop bleeding and causing Kai to hiss again. "You are such a baby."

Kai looked down and grabbed the towel. "I can do it myself," he said as he held it.

Max opened his mouth to argue with Kai when the door opened. "I didn't hear the ambulance," he said. "It must be Hilary."

"Kai," Ray's voice said. "Looks like a friend of yours found her way here."

"What?" Kai asked as he looked up. Standing in front of him was a very worried-looking Lina. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What happened?" Lina asked as she sat beside Kai.

"Nothing," Kai said quickly. "Just an accident."

"And who are-? Mariah started asking.

"Guys," Max interrupted. "Talk later. Try and keep that cut under control for now. I'm going out to wait for the ambulance. Ray should probably be sitting down anyway." With that he went outside and the others went back to taking care of Kai's wound. Lina and Kai just sat next to eachother in awkward silence. 'Well this is just great,' Kai thought to himself sarcastically, not having ever wanted anyone to see him in such a state, especially not Lina for some reason.

-----------------------

Sorry it took so long to update again. I've been so busy with finals at school. I'll try to update _More Damage Than You Know_ as soon as possible, but I'm having a hard time thinking of what will happen, so if you are a reader of that one please be patient!! I know I've been slow!! U.. I will also update _Heroes and Friends_ soon_.. _which I'm sorry that I haven't worked on in a long time. I was a little discouraged with that story because people didnt like its direction, but I have decided to stick with my originally planned storyline.

Anyways... I hope you all liked this chapter... Take a look at the title. It doesn't just have tto do with Tyson and Dragoon. It's kind of a hint about something else, which I'm am sure all of you have caught onto already. Please review!!


	8. The Past and Future

I finally updated! And I already have a plan for the next chapter, so hopefully that will be up soon. Thanks for all of the reviews! Here's chapter 8...

Lina ran down the hallway of the hospital in a huge rush to find an unoccupied payphone. She had just arrived there with Kai's team at the ER, and the others were still in the waiting room. Lina had never felt so worried in her entire life, and she just couldn't explain it. When she'd come to the Grangers' home to talk to Kai, she hadn't expected to find what she did. She'd just sat down next to him and hadn't say a word after that, not until he'd passed out from losing too much blood. When that had happened she'd grabbed him and tried to shake him awake, but it hadn't worked. She couldn't remember exactly what she'd said, but she'd yelled something to his friends about just standing around. She felt guilty now though, because they hadn't been "just standing around." They had actually been trying to help Kai.  
  
Lina stopped and shook her head as she came to a pay phone. "Beyblading accident, my ass," she thought aloud. "I'll bet I know what really happened." She picked up the receiver, put in money, and dialed Lane's number.  
  
The phone rang once before it was picked up. "Hello?" Lane's voice answered.  
  
"What did you do?!" Lina yelled into the phone.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence before Lane answered. "Lina? Is that you?"  
  
"You know perfectly well it is!" Lina yelled. "Now tell me what the hell you made Tyson do to Kai!" There was no response. "Lane! Tell me right now! Why did you do it?"  
  
"I didn't," Lane replied.  
  
"Then what the hell happened?!" Lina exclaimed. "Are you going to try to tell me that it was an accident Lane? Or maybe Jason did it?"  
  
"Lina," Lane said calmly. "If you relax for a minute I can explain. Jason said that-"  
  
"Of course!" Lina yelled. "Jason said to do it, so you did."  
  
"Lina it's not what you-"  
  
"I don't care!" Lina yelled. "Kai got hurt because of Jason's stupid plan to get his father out of jail! I thought you didn't want to hurt them any more than I did, but now I guess I was wrong. Well, you know what Lane? You two can go on with your plan with one less person." She was silent for a moment before she said in a very threatening tone, "I'm going to stop you Lane. That's a promise." She hung up the phone before Lane could say anything else.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Lane tried to explain what had happened, but Lina hung up. Lane put the phone back on the receiver and rubbed her temple. Jason was standing beside her chuckling to himself. Lane looked up at him. "What are we going to do?" she asked nervously.  
  
Jason smirked and looked behind him. Tyson was standing there in a military stance, looking straight ahead of him seriously. "Tyson," Jason said. "Dispose of Lina."  
  
"No!" Lane yelled. "We're just using him for the trial Jason! We can't order him to do that!"  
  
Jason quickly backhanded Lane, knocking her off of her seat. Lane looked up at him with tears in her eyes and slowly put one hand up to her lip. When she pulled it away, she saw blood that had leaked from her lip. She backed away from her boyfriend with fearful eyes. "J-Jason," she stuttered. "Why?"  
  
Jason's eyes grew wide as he stared at his own hand, which was still raised. "Lane," he whispered as he tried to move towards her. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't touch me!" Lane yelled at him.  
  
Jason's eyes narrowed as he regained his posture. Lane stood up and grabbed the phone and started to dial. "What are you doing?" Jason demanded.  
  
"Something I should have done a long time ago," Lane said. "Stopping you." Lane looked up when the phone was taken from her hands and hung up. She glared at Jason. "It's enough!" she yelled at him. "You're taking this too far!"  
  
Jason threw the phone at a wall angrily and walked away from Lane. He put his hand on Tyson's shoulder as he stood behind him. "You know what to do," he said to Tyson.  
  
Tyson nodded and walked towards Lane. Her eyes grew wide and she backed away from him, until her back met with the wall behind him. She closed her eyes and gulped nervously before she felt Tyson's hands around her neck, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes snapped open as she tried to pry his hands from herself. "Jason," she gasped. "You can't… do… this…"  
  
Jason walked up to her. "Why not?"  
  
Lane closed her eyes for a second as she tried to swallowed again. She opened them when Tyson's grip loosened a bit. "You need me," she said slowly. "You can't do this yourself."  
  
Jason glared at her. "Tyson, you can stop," he said.  
  
Tyson released Lane and backed away. Lane gasped for air and glared back at Jason. "It's over!" she yelled at him.  
  
"Just get back to work!" he ordered. "We can talk about this later!" He stormed out of the room, leaving Lane with Tyson.  
  
Lane walked over to Tyson and stared at him. "Why did I agree to this?" she asked him. "Why did I let Jason pull me into this?" She looked at her computer, where video recordings of the Bladebreakers were playing. As if on cue, the video of Tyson and Hilary under the bridge started to play. Lane smirked. "He used to be like that you know. He used to be a nice guy just like you." She looked back at Tyson, knowing no response would come from him. She was shocked when she saw a sad glimmer in his eyes, much unlike the blank look that had been in them before. "You're trying to fight it aren't you?" she asked. "Tyson don't let Jason control you. You need to be the person you really are. You have people that need you to. Hilary needs you to."  
  
"Hil…ary…" Tyson's eyes shut tightly and he brought his hands up to his head. "I… can't…" he said slowly. "Help… me…"  
  
Lane put a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok," she said soothingly. "I'll stop this all from happening. I'll fix it." Tyson relaxed and slowly went back to a military stance, staring blankly ahead, all signs of his real self gone. Lane sighed. "I won't let Jason use you," she whispered to him as she went to her computer and brought up files on it. One of them was a newspaper that showed a picture of Gideon's arrest. "Because without Gideon he won't have to."  
  
She picked up the phone from the floor and put the battery back in it. She pulled her phone book out of a bag that was sitting beside her desk and found one specific number. She dialed the number. "I know this is probably the wrong way to do it," she said as the phone rang. "But I have no other way to do it."  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello John," Lane said.  
  
"Who is this?" the other person, John, replied.  
  
"It's your little sister," Lane replied.  
  
"Lane? How are you doing?"  
  
Lane bit her lip. "John," she said softly. "I need a favor."  
  
"Ask away."  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Ray and Mariah were sitting quietly off to the corner of the waiting room, awaiting word on Kai. Max and Mariam were talking together a little way away from them, and Kenny was calling Mr. Dickenson about what had happened. Grandpa and Hilary had arrived just before the ambulance, and they had driven everyone to the hospital. Grandpa was sitting down patiently, while Hilary paced the room. They had to wait either for Mr. Dickenson to get there or for news on Kai's condition before they could leave to file a missing person report with the police. Everyone had agreed to say that this had been a beyblading accident, and the doctors had believed their story.  
  
When Lina entered the room, she was met by the suspicious gaze of Hilary. "Who are you?" Hilary asked her. "What were you doing at Tyson's house?"  
  
"I was there for Kai," Lina said.  
  
"You told us that in the car," Hilary said. "You also said that you have something important to talk to him about. If it has anything to do with what's going on, you can tell the rest of us you know."  
  
"Well I don't know the rest of you," Lina snapped back. "So I would rather talk to Kai about it."  
  
Hilary was about to say something back, but Grandpa stopped her. "Leave it alone," he told her.  
  
Hilary sat down and crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you know Kai anyway?" she asked.  
  
"I met him here today," Lina replied.  
  
Hilary let out a short laugh. "And I'll bet he was really friendly to you," she said sarcastically. "Kai doesn't like meeting new people that much, in case you didn't know. You're just some crazy fan girl aren't you?"  
  
"Not at all," Lina replied calmly, trying to remain indifferent, though Hilary really was making her angry. "In fact, before today I never had any interest in him whatsoever. So you can throw that theory of yours right out the door. Besides, Kai actually was friendly to me. It may be hard for you to believe. I'm Kai's friend."  
  
"Well so are we," Hilary replied. "So anything you need to tell Kai you can tell us."  
  
"No," Grandpa said. "You don't need to." He looked sternly at Hilary. "And you stop it right now," he told her.  
  
A doctor suddenly walked into the room. "Kai's awake," he said. "He ended up getting 17 stitches and needed a blood transfusion. Other than that he's fine. The blade missed any important internal organs, so he'll be alright. He just needs to stay the night. He's in room 327."  
  
Grandpa stood up, as did everyone else. "Thank you," he said.  
  
The doctor nodded and walked away to work with other patients. "Lina," Grandpa said. "You go in and talk to Kai. Everyone will wait until you're done."  
  
"Ok," Lina said gratefully as she rushed off to Kai's room.  
  
"Why can't we go too Grandpa?" Hilary asked.  
  
"I have a feeling that what she has to say is really important," Grandpa replied. "Give her some time with the dude," he told the other teens. He turned back to Hilary. "Let's go talk to the cops now."  
  
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Lina knocked on the open door of Kai's room as she walked through it to get his attention. "Lina," Kai said.  
  
She sat beside Kai's bed and looked down at her lap. "I know Tyson did this to you," she told him.  
  
"It was a beyblading accident," Kai insisted.  
  
Lina shook her head as she looked at him. "I know why he did it too," she said nervously.  
  
Kai sat up in his bed a little more, wincing slightly as his wound hurt. "What are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
"It's a very long story," Lina said.  
  
"Well I have the time to listen," Kai told her.  
  
Lina looked down for a second and took a deep breath before looking back at him. "A month ago," she said. "You and your friends put Alexander Gideon in jail."  
  
"I'm aware of that," Kai said. "And his trial is in 2 days."  
  
Lina nodded. "Well, he had a 17-year-old son, Jason," she told him. "And Jason came up with an idea to get his father out of jail. Jason happened to have a girlfriend by the name of Lane Rider. Lane is fifteen, and she's very intelligent, much like your friend Kenny. She's really good with all kinds of technology. And that's where she came into the plan. Jason wanted to use the chemical that was already in Tyson's body to control him and make him testify on behalf of his father. He wanted Tyson to rid Gideon of all charges. He needed Lane to do that for him. Being in love with Jason, Lane was willing to do anything to help him. But she was also curious, so she used her 'backup' to investigate your team."  
  
"Backup?" Kai repeated. "What was that?"  
  
"Me," Lina told him. "Lane's backup was me," Lina told Kai.  
  
"What?!" Kai exclaimed. "You're spying on us?!"  
  
"Hold on," Lina begged desperately. "Hear me out."  
  
"I'm listening," Kai said impatiently.  
  
Lina took a deep breath. "About a year ago, Lane was working on some experiment with Jason's father," she said. "That was actually how she met Jason, but that's beside the point. Lane tried to used this new machine they built on herself to enhance her skills as a beyblader, but the machine didn't work quite as she'd hoped. Instead it gave her a totally different ability."  
  
"And what was that?" Kai asked.  
  
"The ability to make a copy of herself," Lina replied. "Only by the power of the machine though. It make an exact genetic copy of her and produced… me."  
  
Kai raised an eyebrow at her. "You're a… clone?" he said skeptically.  
  
Lina nodded. "The machine sort of worked like yin and yang," she explained further. "At first anyway. I was like the bad side of Lane. She claims that I have no conscience, and maybe that was true at first, but I think slowly I changed since separating from her. I've become more like her actually, except for being a little more daring than her… and one other thing."  
  
"What other thing?" Kai asked.  
  
"She's in love with Jason," Lina told him. "And I'm not. You see, I have a theory on what that machine really did."  
  
"What?" Kai asked her.  
  
"I think it…" Lina started. "It's hard to explain. But I think that it separated the past from the future."  
  
"I don't understand," Kai said.  
  
"Ok," Lina said as she started to explain to him. "You know how some people are held back in life or in certain decisions because of something that happened or something they felt in the past? Like how people might not do something they want to do because something that happened before contradicts it?"  
  
"I guess," Kai replied.  
  
"Well," Lina said. "What do you think would happen if someone could forget their past and let their future take over?"   
  
"I have no idea," Kai told her.  
  
Lina looked at Kai for a minute before she leaned closer to him and kissed him. "That would happen," she said. "They would be able to let go of what they felt before and have what they want to feel now."  
  
Kai stared at Lina with a shocked expression, and Lina smiled slightly. "Kai, I won't lie about it. At first I was willingly part of the plan, and I was going to help them get Gideon out of jail. But I realized that I didn't want to do it. Why was I helping someone I wasn't in love with when it could hurt someone I did have feelings for? I realized that when I met you, because I couldn't stop thinking about. And I told them that I want no part in what they are doing anymore. I'm going to help you stop them. I want to do whatever it takes to make this up to you. You just need to trust me."  
  
Kai stared at Lina blankly for a moment before nodding and putting his hand on top of hers. "Ok," he said.


	9. Love Comes Last

Hey everyone! I'm glad that you all liked the last chapter!! Ok.. Well this chapter's going to have a little bit of the Saint Shields in it, because I haven't put in Mariam's part in the storyline yet. I'm not going to put too much, because right now a long scene with them won't fit in that well. But I'm sure that some of you want more of the Saint Shields, so I'm putting them in..  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Kai and Lina sat together in a happy silence, before Kai decided to break it. "Hey… um…"  
  
"What?" Lina asked.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering," Kai said. "What am I supposed to call you now that I know who you really are?"  
  
Lina smiled and laughed. "I really don't know," she said. "Whatever you want to call me. In truth my name legally is Lane Rider… well… if you want to call a clone legal that is. But the only reason they call me Lina is so that I don't get confused with my… better half," she added sarcastically.  
  
"What do you want me to call you?" Kai asked. "Lina or Lane?"  
  
"Let's just stick with Lina for now," she told him. She sighed for a moment and looked into Kai's eyes. "Kai," she said. "There's something else that I haven't told you."  
  
Kai frowned. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Well," Lina said slowly. "I think Jason might make Lane try to get rid of me."  
  
"What do you mean?" Kai asked. "How would she do that?"  
  
"If I go back there Lane might not risk the opportunity to remerge," Lina told him. "She can make me go back. I'll be just part of Lane again."  
  
"You'd be gone?" Kai asked. "You wouldn't have any control over Lane?"  
  
"I don't know," Lina said. "I really hope I will though." She leaned forward and kissed him again. "I don't want to forget this." She leaned back in her seat and watched Kai's face.  
  
"Lina," Kai said. "Do you think, since you two are the same person, that I'm in love with Lane too?"  
  
Lina tilted her head to the side and smiled slightly. "Too?" she asked playfully. "Would that mean that you're in love with me?"  
  
Kai looked down. "I think so," he said. "I couldn't explain what I felt for you before, but I know I felt it after meeting you only once."  
  
"Well Kai," Lina said. "I guess you would be in love with Lane, because I am Lane."  
  
"If you were gone," Kai asked unsure of whether or not this was an appropriate question. "If you were part of her again, would she be in love with me?"  
  
Lina bit her lip. "Maybe," she said. "Without Jason, probably. I guess we'll find out when the time comes."  
  
"I don't want to have to find out," Kai said.  
  
"Me neither," Lina said. She stood from her seat. "Kai I think I should go. I need to go talk to someone about all of this. I think he can help us out."  
  
"Do you have a plan already?" Kai asked.  
  
Lina nodded. "There's only one way that Jason will let Tyson go," she said. "And that's if he doesn't need him anymore. But the only way to do that is to get rid of Gideon."  
  
"Do you mean kill Gideon?" Kai asked with a shocked tone.  
  
"It's the only way," Lina told him. "But Kai," she said. "If Jason knows about this, he'll… I'll…"  
  
"What?" Kai asked.  
  
"Jason won't hesitate to have me killed," she said. Fearful tears came to her eyes. "He'll do it himself if he has to."  
  
Kai grabbed her wrist as she started to walk away. Lina looked Kai in the eyes and found some reassurance. "I won't let anything happen to you," Kai told her. "I promise."  
  
"Don't make promises that aren't yours to keep," Lina said as she pulled her wrist free and left the room.  
  
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Ray, Mariah, Max, and Mariam stood as Lina entered the waiting room again. Ray noticed that her eyes looked as if she'd just been crying, and it sparked his curiosity.  
  
"How is Kai doing?" Max asked.   
  
"Is he still awake?" Mariah inquired.  
  
"He's all yours," was all that Lina told them as she walked by briskly. She was stopped by a hand on her arm and she turned around to see that Ray had a hold of her while everyone else was walking away. "Can I help you?" she asked him somewhat harshly, being in a rush.   
  
"What's wrong?" Ray asked her. "Is something wrong with Kai?"  
  
Lina shook her head. "No," she told him. "Kai's fine. I just need to go do something."  
  
Ray could sense something upsetting her though and he decided to press on. "Are you sure? You're Kai's friend, and I'm willing to help out anyone that Kai trusts."  
  
"It's nothing," Lina tried to assure him.  
  
"Then, if you don't mind, could you tell me whatever you know about Tyson?" Ray asked. Lina didn't respond to his question and he frowned. "I know that you know something about it. Please, just tell us. Please help us find our friend."  
  
Lina looked away. "I told Kai everything I know," she said as she pulled her arm free of Ray's grasp. "If he wants to tell you, he will, but I'm not in the mood to tell it all again." With that she walked away from Ray, who just sighed and walked to Kai's room slowly.  
  
Mariah was standing at Kai's open door waiting for her boyfriend. "You're moving a little slow Ray," she pointed out. "Is your leg hurting you?"  
  
Ray shook his head. "Just tired," he said. "That's all."  
  
"What were you talking to Lina about?" Mariah asked.  
  
"I was asking her about Tyson," Ray replied. "But she doesn't want to tell me anything."  
  
"Then why don't I tell you?" Kai asked from inside.  
  
Ray and Mariah came into the room and closed the door behind themselves. "How are you feeling?" Ray asked Kai.  
  
"Fine," Kai replied. "I know where Tyson is, but it's kind of a long story."  
  
"We're all listening," Max said.  
  
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Lina found the same pay phone that she'd called Lane from and picked it up. She dialed the operator number and waited for it to pick up.  
  
"Hello?" the operator answered. "How may I help you?"  
  
"Can you connect me to Johnathon Rider?" Lina asked.  
  
"One moment please."  
  
The phone rang twice before it was answered by a male voice. "Hello?"  
  
"John," Lina said.  
  
"Lane?" John replied. "Long time, no talk huh?" he asked sarcastically.  
  
"John, I need a favor," Lina said.  
  
"Yea I know," John answered. "I've already got my guys on it."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked.  
  
"Lane," John said. "You just called me, remember? Don't worry. My boys are ready to get Gideon out of the way as soon as they have the chance. We decided to wait until the trial date. It will be easier to do it out in the open.  
  
We've already got plans to have a sniper ready. No one will expect it."  
  
Lina blinked in confusion. "Thanks John," she said slowly. "Ummm… I guess I'll talk to you later."  
  
"Okay. Bye."  
  
"Bye," Lina said as she hung up the phone. She leaned back against the wall and then smiled. Lane was on her side and apparently also on the same track as far as planning to end it. Maybe things wouldn't turn out as badly as she had thought.  
  
She walked back to Kai's room and entered with a smile on her face. Everyone looked up at her as she came in. "What's going on now?" Mariam asked.  
  
"Do you think you guys can all just lie low for the next couple of days?" Lina asked.  
  
"Why?" Mariah asked. "Kai explained everything, so we understand what's happening. You can tell us what you're planning."  
  
Lina shook her head. "Just know that Gideon will be out of the way," she said. "We just have to make sure that Jason doesn't try to get to any of us before the trial date. Do you all think you can do that?"  
  
Max stood up from his seat. "No," he said firmly. "I'm not going to just sit around. I want to go help Tyson."  
  
"Well the only way to help Tyson is to stay out of it," Lina replied. "Don't worry about Tyson. Lane won't let anything happen to him. She's on our side now."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kai said.  
  
Lina smiled. "Let's just say that I wasn't the only one planning on getting rid of Gideon," she said. "I don't know how it happened, but somehow she is trying to stop Jason."  
  
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Jason sat in the office with his feet up on the desk as he though about what had just happened. He had just hit the girl he loved and probably lost her for good. "What was I thinking," he growled at himself. He spotted his wallet on the desk and opened it to pull out a picture that he always kept in it. It was a picture of him and Lane at his mansion in France. His father Gideon was an aristocrat well-known to the world, and Jason had been raised on the very best that life could offer. But Jason had never been happy as a child. His father had never approved of anything he'd done or who he'd been. It hadn't been until he'd met Lane that Jason had felt good enough. Lane had once made him happy, but he'd ruined things with her.  
  
No. She had ruined things with him. Jason never had been able to handle defiance, and he wasn't going to let it go just because of Lane. Jason was determined to free his father and make him proud, even if it meant giving up the first good thing that ever happened to him. 'Forgive me Lane,' he thought. 'I'm going to have to get rid of you.' Jason threw the picture onto the desk. "I'm so sorry," he said remorsefully. "I love you, but there are more important things than that right now. I can't let you get in the way of rescuing Father."  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
"She's missing!" a small teenager with green hair yelled as he ran to his friend's home. "She just le-" He was cut off as he ran into the person he had been searching for.  
  
"Joseph," the older teen said as he helped him back to his feet. "What's going on?"  
  
"Mariam's gone Ozuma!" Joseph yelled. "She left!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ozuma asked.  
  
"She'd gone," Joseph repeated. "She left a few days ago. I thought she was only going to be gone for a while, but I just found this pinned under a rock down at the river." He held up a note and a small, flat object.  
  
Ozuma took the note from him and read it aloud. "_Dear Ozuma, a lot has changed between us in the past month or so. I know that, though we once were in love, we have no future together. I guess that I didn't understand it at first, but I do now. You have to do what you have to do, and I need to do that same. I have to get on with my life, but I can't do that here. Not around you and especially not if you are going to rule our people along side of her. So I'm going to leave, and I'm not coming back again. I'm sorry that I can't be here to at least support your decision, but it's too hard.  
_  
"_Since I'm leaving the village, I guess that I am no longer part of the Saint Shields. I have no right to take Sharkrash with me, because he belongs to the village. I'll miss him, and I hope that he is taken care of. Please find him a worthy partner as your last favor to me. And also, keep an eye on Joseph. He likes to get into trouble, and I don't want him causing too much mischief. Tell him that I love him and that I'll miss him._  
  
"_There's one other thing I want you to know though. I love you, and I think I always will. Just because things have changed doesn't mean that my feelings for you have. I just can't stand by and watch you make this mistake. Good bye, Ozuma. Don't forget me.  
_  
"_Love always, Mariam_. She's gone." Ozuma looked at the object in Joseph's hand and took it. It was a bit chip. "Sharkrash," he said quietly. He just stared at the bit in his hands with a shocked expression.  
  
"So?" Joseph asked.  
  
"So what?" Ozuma said as he looked at Joseph.  
  
"So how do you plan to get her back?" Joseph asked.  
  
Ozuma frowned. "I don't," he said sadly.  
  
"What?" Joseph asked incredulously. "Ozuma you need to go after her!"  
  
"She made it clear that she wants to leave," Ozuma replied. "We can't force her to come back."  
  
"She only left because she thinks you don't love her," Joseph said. "Or don't you anymore?"  
  
"I do love her Joseph," Ozuma said. "You know that. But I can't go after her."  
  
"Why not?" Joseph asked. "If you just give up on this crap about leading our village, you can go after her. She can come back here with you, and you can both be happy together."  
  
"I can't do that!" Ozuma said in a raised voice as he turned his back on Joseph. He looked down at the bit chip lying in the palm of his hand. "No one in this village would ever give up the opportunity to rule our people for a girl. I'm sorry Joseph, but I can't go after Mariam."  
  
"Some leader you'll be," Joseph mocked. "Your priorities are little screwed up, don't you think Zuma?"  
  
"I'm thinking about our people," Ozuma said.  
  
"No," Joseph told him. "You're only thinking about yourself. It's too bad you're leaving out the most important thing in your life. You said you loved Mariam. My sister should be more important than power."  
  
"I'm sorry Joseph," Ozuma apologized. "I never wanted to hurt her, but I can't give up on something that I have always wanted. I'm sorry."  
  
"Fine!" Joseph shouted. "I'll go myself and bring her back!" He ran off towards his house to get some things together to leave. He knew that his sister would have gone to the Bladebreakers in Japan, so that was where he would look for her.  
  
Ozuma listened to Joseph running away, and he enclosed his fist around shark rash. "I'm sorry Mariam," he said sadly as he walked back into his home.  
  
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Well there's chapter 9. I'll update again after I update a chapter to my other story! Please review!! 


	10. Switching Places

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My own computer is broken, so I have to use the family computer. I had also planned to update "the Champ of Broken Promises" before this one, but I started that chapter on the other computer and I don't want to change what I have already written. So here's chapter 10. A lot happens in this chapter. Read and review!!  
  
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Jason hung up the phone with an evil smirk on his face. "This is perfect," he said to himself happily. "Now all I need to do is get Tyson there on time and Lane's plan won't make any difference." He looked back down at the picture on his desk and his smirk widened to a malicious grin. "My dear Lane," he said with mock sadness. "How could you do this to me? I'm sorry, but I really cannot tolerate insubordination from my own girlfriend. If you are going to double-cross me, I'll just have to take care of that."  
  
Jason stood from his seat and walked to the laboratory down the hall. Lane was sitting at the computer working on Tyson's program. "What are you doing?" Jason asked her.  
  
Lane's head snapped up to look at him as she shut down the program. "N-nothing," she said nervously. "I'm just fixing some problems with Tyson here to prevent any problems for the next couple of days."  
  
Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That'll be enough," he told her. "We won't be needing to worry about the next few days. Just today will be sufficient."  
  
"What do you mean?" Lane asked with confusion. She glanced worriedly at Tyson before quickly turning her eyes back to her boyfriend. "Is something the matter?"  
  
Jason shook his head curtly. "Not at all," he said confidently. He smirked at Lane's look of pure worry. "The trial has been moved up to today," he said. "And Tyson is to be called as the first witness."  
  
Lane's eyes grew wide with shock. "What?" she asked. "Why?"  
  
"Lane, I have many connections," Jason said, "many sources from which I get my information. And do you know what one of my most reliable sources told me today?" Jason stepped closer to her until his hands were resting on her shoulders.  
  
Lane gulped and shook her head slowly. "No…" She tried to look away from him nonchalantly.  
  
"He told me that a hit was just put out on my father," Jason told her. "Someone planned to kill him as he was being transported to the courthouse, so my father is being quietly transported today before anyone can cause any damage. It was handled easily, but I am still very angry that someone would do that." He moved his head to her until he was practically breathing down her neck. "Do you have any idea of what I plan to do when I find out who hired that hit on my father?" he asked dangerously. He pronounced every word slowly, almost in a hiss that sent shivers up Lane's spine and struck fear into her.  
  
Lane bit her lip and tried not to let Jason see the look of pure terror on her face. "No…" The hairs rose on the back of her neck as she felt his hot breath on it.  
  
Jason smirked. He cupped a hand on the shaking girl's chin and pulled it up to look at him as he turned her chair around. He gently brushed his finger along the cut that he had created along her lip earlier that afternoon. "Such a nasty cut on such a beautiful face," he said sarcastically. "A pity really. I would hate to ruin that face if you disobeyed me again Lanie."  
  
Lane's eyes watered with fear. "J-jason," she stuttered.  
  
Jason put a finger against her lips. "Shush," he said in a bitter-sweet voice. "You needn't worry your pretty little head off. You're not going to disobey me ever again. You're going to be a good little girl for me, aren't you Lanie? And then you'll never make me angry again." Lane parted her lips slightly, about to respond, but Jason silenced her again with an extremely rough kiss. He forced his tongue into her mouth, and held the kiss for a long time. When he finally released her she was panting for breath. Jason grinned. "Now go get ready. You have to look nice for the trial don't you? I can't show up without my beloved girlfriend at my side can I?"  
  
"Ok," Lane said as she stood. She stole a glance at Tyson.  
  
"Get going," Jason ordered.  
  
Lane nodded and walked down to the room she'd been using since the beginning of their stay at the laboratories. She quietly closed the door behind her and looked around the room. It was part of the dormitory section of the laboratory where the workers slept. Lane sat down on the bed and looked at the ground. She had to get a hold of John and tell him about the change of plans. No, Jason would catch that too easily. She had to talk to the Bladebreakers and come up with a plan with them. Hopefully Lina would trust her again. They had to think of something. Gideon and Jason had to be stopped.   
  
Lane looked at her face in the mirror and grimaced. This was all on her and Lina now. If she couldn't get a hold of John and tell him when kill Gideon then something else had to be done. "I'll have to do it myself."  
  
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Jason looked at Tyson after Lane left and smiled. "Be ready Tyson," he said. "The trial is in three hours. You are going to put on the show of your lifetime, which by the way will be cut very short. Once I'm done with you I will dispose of you the way you should have been a long time ago." He narrowed his eyes at the mind-controlled teen standing before him with a blank look on his face. "My father should have had you killed the first time you ever set foot in the laboratory. But no, he couldn't do that. You were supposedly so strong. You had some power that he had to use. Well you don't look so powerful now do you? I control you now Tyson. You're nothing but a weakling Tyson, a weakling that I control. I have power over you. I'm stronger, and now I've finally proven that."  
  
Jason turned and walked away to go prepare for the trial. "Stay here until I come to get you for the trial," he called to Tyson as he walked out of the door.  
  
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"So what do we do now about Tyson?" Kenny asked Lina.  
  
"We don't do anything," Lina told him. "I do. I'm going to get to the lab to see Lane. If she really is on the same track as me for this situation, then maybe she's already working on that part."  
  
"How would she do that?" Max asked curiously.  
  
"Well we obviously can't just turn off the program controlling Tyson," Lina said. "Jason probably knows how to work it by now. The only way to stop it from hurting Tyson would be to reverse the chemical in his body."  
  
"An antidote," Kai said.  
  
Lina nodded. "Right," she said. "Exactly what I had in mind. And I think Lane will know exactly how to make it. I just want to go see what is going on there." She stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll come back here as soon as I find anything out."  
  
"Be careful," Kai told her. "Please."  
  
"I promise," she said. "See you guys later."  
  
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Lane walked briskly through the hospital doors and went straight to the desk. "Where is Kai Hiwatari's room?" she asked. "I need to speak with him immediately. It's an emergency."  
  
"Room 327," a nurse replied.  
  
"Thank you," Lane said with a nod as she walked towards the correct room. On the way she saw her clone walking down the hall, but Lina didn't seem to take notice to her. Lane was suddenly struck with an idea and she stayed out of Lina's view as she passed by. Lane had no clue that Lina knew she was on the same side, so she assumed that there was only one way to get the others to trust her. She had to make them think she was Lina.  
  
Lane waited outside for a few minutes to make it appear that she'd left for a bit. "Back," she said as she finally walked into the room..  
  
"I thought you were going to talk to Lane," Ray said as she took up Lina's seat beside Kai.  
  
Lane shook her head. "We have something bigger to worry about right now," she told them. "I just saw it on the television in the waiting room. Gideon's trial has been moved up. It's in less then three hours."  
  
"What?!" Mariam exclaimed.  
  
"It's true," Lane told them. "They pushed the date up to prevent a planned murder of Gideon."  
  
Max's eyes grew wide. "We need to tell Hilary and Grandpa," he said. "They're probably still filing the police report for Tyson. We all need to be at the trial."  
  
"But Kai can't leave the hospital yet," Mariah said.  
  
"They'll have to be one witness short then," Ray said as he stood. "We need to get to that trial now."  
  
"We haven't even got Tyson back!" Max said worriedly. "If he testifies on behalf of Gideon…"  
  
"Then we'll lose the case," Kai finished for him. "And Gideon will go free."  
  
"He'll go after you all next won't he?!" Mariah panicked as she stood up. "Oh Ray I don't want him to hurt you again!" She flung her arms around her boyfriend's neck.  
  
"He won't hurt anyone again," Lane said. "I'm going to make sure that he is put away for the rest of his life."  
  
"How?" Kenny asked. "There isn't much any of us can do with only 3 hours before the trial starts."  
  
"I'll testify," Lane said. "I'll tell them the whole story, from beginning to end."  
  
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Lina looked around the corner into the next hallway as she snuck around the laboratory. Seeing that it was all clear she dashed for the lab room that Lane had been working in. She closed the door behind her as she entered and looked around. "Lane where'd you go?" she asked as she walked towards the computer. The only other person in the room was Tyson. She waved her hand in front of his face, but he remained indifferent. "Ok," she said. "So Lane isn't here. Now what do I do?"  
  
Lina looked around the room again and walked back to the computer. She sat down in front of it and set her hands on the keyboard. "I know there must be some reason you aren't here," she said as if she were talking to Lane. "So let's see what you were planning." She, having the same level of intelligence as her "sister," knew exactly what to do with the computer. In almost no time at all, she had pulled up the last program Lane had been using recently. A smile spread across Lina's face as she looked at the screen. She turned to face the other teen in the room. "Looks like Lane's already got you covered," she told him. "Tyson, we're going to fix you right now."  
  
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Lane, or "Lina" as everyone thought she was, Ray, and Mariah entered the courthouse, wanting to be there early for the trial. Max and Mariam had gone to the police station to look for Grandpa and Hilary, and Kenny had gone back to the Granger household just in case they were already there. The three teens sat in the hall of the courthouse anxiously. "Gideon should be arriving here any time now," Lane told the other two. "And Jason should be here soon too."  
  
"Good," Mariah said as she narrowed her eyes angrily. "I can't wait to see those bastards. After a month we'll finally get revenge on Gideon for what he did to you all."  
  
"For what he did to Tyson," Ray added. "I hope Tyson makes it out of this all ok."  
  
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Max grabbed Mariam's wrist and stopped her just outside of the door to the police station. "What is it?" Mariam asked him.  
  
Max sighed, his big blue eyes glistening. "Do you think this will all work out?" he asked her nervously. "Do you think Tyson will be alright?"  
  
Mariam looked sadly into his eyes and saw how badly he needed her to reassure him. "I don't know," she told him softly. "But I think Tyson is strong enough. He won't let this end badly." She smiled slightly at Max.  
  
Max nodded and released her wrist. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks," he whispered. "Come on. Let's go find them."  
  
They both walked into the police station to find Hilary actually yelling at a police officer. "YOU HAVE TO FIND HIM!" she was shrieking. "This entire police force is a disgrace! You won't even go search for a teenager- a very sick teenager may I add- that went missing from the hospital! He's been kidnapped for God's sake! FIND HIM!"  
  
Max and Mariam exchanged exasperated looks with one another as they watched the scene. The young police officer being yelled at seemed to cower under Hilary as she screamed at him. "We- we're doing the b-best we can ma'am," he said nervously.   
  
"Well do better!" Hilary yelled.  
  
"That's enough!" Grandpa told her. He had the same look on his face that Max and Mariam shared.  
  
"Grandpa!" Max yelled.  
  
Grandpa and Hilary looked at the two teens with shock. "What are you doing here?" Grandpa asked.  
  
"The trial's about to start," Max said. "We know where Tyson is too. We have to go now though. We'll explain everything on the way."  
  
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Ray glanced at "Lina" and noticed something different about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was different about her face. She was sitting down quietly, looking at her lap in a daze, lost in her own thoughts. Ray's eyes narrowed as he figured out what he was looking for. "Lina," he said, pulling her back to the real world.  
  
Lane looked up at Ray blankly. "Hm?" she responded.  
  
"What happened to your lip?" Ray asked.  
  
"Yeah," Mariah added in as she looked at Lane's face. "How'd you bust it open like that?"  
  
"I… uh…" Lane muttered. "Bit it…"  
  
Ray frowned, not sure whether or not to believe her.  
  
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Lina filled a needle with the mixture she had just created. Using the plans Lane had already made, she's been able to make the antidote to Dr. B's mind control chemical. She walked over to Tyson and grabbed his forearm with one hand. "I'm warning you now Tyson," she said. "This antidote isn't perfect. There are some risks. It may cause some complications for you. It'll be a couple of hours before it takes effect." She took a deep breath as she saw Tyson's eyes actually look at her for the first time. "I can promise you one thing though. No one will control your mind again."  
  
Tyson looked as if his mind was being strained, and he clutched his head with his free hand. "Tyson?" Lina asked worriedly.  
  
"Do… it…" Tyson managed to choke out.  
  
Lina bit her lip and nodded. She stuck the needle in his arm and injected the antidote. "I won't let Jason use you as his puppet."  
  
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Kai held his stitched stomach as he just barely managed to change into his normal clothing. He wasn't about to let this trial happen without him there. He was going to be there when Lina testified. "Hold on guys," he said. "I'm coming."  
  
Kai slipped out of the hospital unnoticed and made it to the bus station. He nearly laughed when he remembered that Tyson had done the same thing earlier. 'Some security that hospital has,' Kai thought to himself. 'It's a surprise that all of the patients aren't sneaking out.'  
  
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Jason walked into the laboratory just as Lina had disposed of the needle. "Lane, let's get going," he said. "We don't want to keep the court waiting, do we?" He smiled, but something wasn't right about it. The smile made Lina's stomach twist into a knot. What was Jason talking about?  
  
Lina just nodded her head, afraid to act as if she didn't know anything. Jason accepted the response and turned to Tyson. "You'd better catch a bus there," he told him. "You can't show up with us."  
  
Tyson nodded and walked off to get a ride to the courthouse. Jason turned back to Lina. He offered an arm to her and stared down on her until she took it unwillingly. "Just you wait," Jason said with an evil smirk. "It's going to be one hell of a show." 


	11. Signs of Weakness

I'm finally updating!! Thanks for the reviews and sorry for the wait! I've been busy and for some reason this story has been causing some major writer's block! I keep getting ideas for my other stories and for new ones, but I can never seem to come up with anything for this one! But I finally did come up with something exciting to write! Something really bad is going to happen too! Read to find out! Please review!

* * *

Kai decided to rest his eyes a bit during his bus ride to the trial. It was still difficult to rest with the wound in his side, and his breathing was very heavy, catching the attention of the few other passengers on the bus. Kai hoped he'd be at the court soon, but he had to wait patiently for the bus to make its way there.

There were numerous stops that the bus made, and passengers came and went. Kai paid no attention to them though, not until he felt his stomach twist into a knot. His eyes snapped open and he looked at the door to see a familiar face stepping onto the bus. Kai's jaw dropped slightly as he watched Tyson take a seat across from him.

* * *

"We're here guys!" Max yelled as he, Mariam, Hilary, Grandpa, and Kenny joined Mariah, Ray, and 'Lina' at the courthouse.

The supposed clone stood up and looked at the newcomers. "Jason hasn't shown up yet," she said. "And neither has Tyson."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon enough," Max said.

"Max," Ray said. "I need to talk to you in private."

Max nodded and followed Ray away. When the others were out of earshot Ray turned to Max. "Something is up with Lina," he told him.

Max frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Do you think she's lying to us?"

Ray shook his head. "At least the real Lina wasn't anyway."

"The real Lina?" Max repeated. His eyes grew wide with realization and he accidentally raised his voice as he spoke again. "Do you mean that she's-"

"Shh!" Ray said as he put his hand over Max's mouth. "Don't let her know that we suspect anything."

"Sorry," Max whispered. "So that's Lane? What do we do about it?"

"Just keep an eye on her," Ray said. "I want to find out if she's really here to help us out."

* * *

Kai came back to his senses and looked at his teammate seriously. "Tyson?" he asked. "You're heading for the courthouse aren't you?"

Tyson took no notice of Kai and just stared blankly ahead as usual. Kai didn't need an answer though. He knew he was assuming correctly. He stood and walked to Tyson, taking a seat beside him, waving a hand in front of his face. "Snap out of it!" he said impatiently. "You can't go into the court like this! Stop taking Jason's orders!" Kai sighed as he realized Tyson would not listen to him. He would have to keep Tyson away from the court by force if he couldn't get through to him.

Kai put both his hands on Tyson's shoulders and shook him roughly. "Snap out of it!" he demanded. "You can't stay like this! You can't go to the trial like this! Fight it. Don't let Gideon win this! Don't let Hilary see you like this!"

Tyson's eyes focused on Kai at the mention of Hilary's name. His body relaxed under Kai's grip and he took in a deep breath. "Kai," he said in a soft voice. "Where's Hilary?"

Kai smiled with relief. "At the courthouse waiting for you to show up," he told his friend. Kai's smile faltered when he saw tears forming in Tyson eyes as his face screwed up in pain. "Tyson are you ok?"

Tyson grabbed his head with his hands and groaned. "It's working," he said gruffly. "Th-the anti...dote... it's working."

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked worriedly.

"Please... help me..." Tyson begged as he jammed his eyes shut in a feeble attempt to stop the pain in his head. "It... hurts so... much..."

"Tyson..."

Tyson cried out in pain as he started to slide out of his seat. Kai caught him and held him up. "Hold on Tyson," he said desperately. "We'll get you some help..."

* * *

Max and Ray looked at the entrance as the doors opened to reveal two more people arriving for the trial. "It's him," Ray said to Max as they saw the young man accompanied by 'Lane.' "That's Jason Gideon."

Jason noticed the teens looking at him and grinned maliciously before turning back to the entrance in time to hold the door open for his father, who was escorted by a police officer.

Hilary practically growled like an animal as she saw the three enter the building. "Where the hell is he?" she asked angrily as she stomped over to Jason. "Where is Tyson? What have you done with him?"

Jason smirked before wearing a fake expression of confusion on his face. "What on earth are you talking about?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Hilary spat at him. "I know why you did it. We all know now. Just give us Tyson back!"

Ray and Max ran over to Hilary just in time to hold her back from jumping on Jason when he grinned at her. "Calm down," Ray said to her.

"He's not worth it," Max added.

"Yes," Jason said with a laugh. "Listen to your friends. Have some self-restraint." He smiled again. "Be a coward."

Max narrowed his eyes and let go of Hilary. He looked at Jason angrily. "Don't you dare insult my friend," he said dangerously. "You already took Tyson from us."

"I already told you that I have no clue as to what you are all going on about," Jason said. "Perhaps this Tyson that has gone missing is just trying to stay away from all of you. Or maybe he doesn't want to come to court because he's a coward like the rest of you."

"Tyson is not a coward!" Max yelled. "He's a braver person than anyone here. The only cowards I see are you and your pitiful father."

"Control that temper of yours," Jason warned. "It's far too big for a little boy like you."

Apparently Jason's last comment had been the last straw because it set Max off. Everyone was shocked as Max tackled Jason to the ground where his fist connected with the older teen's face. "Get the hell off of me you little runt!" Jason yelled at him as guards pulled Max off.

Max fought against them, trying to attack Jason again. "Calm down Max!" Ray tried to tell him, but it was no use. The guards dragged the angry blonde out of the building.

"You can't throw him out there!" Hilary told them. "He's one of the witnesses for the trial!"

"We're just the security," one of the guards told her. "I'm sorry, but your friend was harassing this young man here. It's our job to take care of that."

"Great," Hilary muttered sarcastically. She and Ray walked back over to their friends, trying to stay away from the Gideon family members.

* * *

"Tyson," Kai said as he saw the bus coming to a stop at the courthouse. "Come on. We have to get off here." He threw the groaning boy's arm over his shoulder and supported him as they walked off of the bus to the courthouse.

Max was sitting alone on the steps and spotted his friends. "Kai?" he asked. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the hospital..." Realization suddenly dawned on Max and he ran over to his two teammates. "TYSON?! What happened to him?"

"Talk later," Kai grunted, having a hard time carrying most of Tyson's weight with his wound. "Help me get him in there."

Max nodded and threw Tyson's other arm over his shoulder and help Kai practically drag the half-conscious teen up the steps. At the entrance the same guards that had thrown Max out stop the three boys. "You can't come back in here," one told Max.

"But my friend needs help!" Max said. "His is the most important testimony in this trial. I need to get him in there!"

"We'll take care of that," the guard told Max, still blocking Max's way. The other guard picked Tyson up to carry him. "You stay out there."

The guard let Kai pass and follow as the other carried Tyson into the courtroom.

* * *

Mariah, Ray, Hilary, 'Lina,' Grandpa, and Kenny seated themselves on the prosecutor's side of the courtroom While Jason and 'Lane' sat behind Gideon and his lawyer. A whole crowd of people was gathering as well in the room to witness the trial. They were waiting for the arrival of the judge when the doors to the room burst open. Everyone turned their attention to Kai and the guard carrying Tyson in his arms.

"Oh my god!" Hilary screamed as she saw her boyfriend in pain. "Tyson!" She and Grandpa rushed immediately to Tyson's side as the guard set him in a seat where he could barely hold himself up. "Somebody call an ambulance!" Hilary cried. She put her hand on Tyson's cheek and looked at his pained expression. Sweat beaded down his face as he took in labored breaths. "Tyson, it's ok. I'm here. It's me, Hilary. You're going to be ok now."

Tyson opened his eyes slowly and looked into hers. "Hil...ary..." He managed to say.

Hilary nodded as tears slipped down her cheeks. "Hold on Tyson," she pleaded. "We're going to get you help."

"What happened?" Grandpa asked him.

Tyson's eyes turned to his Grandpa. "She... helped me..." he said.

"Who?" Hilary asked. "What are you talking about Tyson?"

Tyson's eyes seemed to almost glaze over as he looked at Hilary again. "I did it... for you... I love you Hil..."

"Tyson?" Hilary asked as his eyes shut and he fell limply towards her. She caught him gently in her arms and tried to shake him, but he wouldn't wake up. She pulled him closer to her and held him tightly. "It'll be ok. Just hold on."

'Lane' looked at Jason to see that he was too distracted to take any notice of her. As everyone's attention was directed to Hilary's pleas for Tyson to wake, 'Lane' slipped away from Jason's side and approached the real Lane. She saw something in the pocket of Lane's jacket and stealthily removed it without anyone seeing. When she was standing beside Gideon she drew everyone's attention to herself by pointing Lane's gun directly at the man's head.

"What are you doing?!" Lane asked her with a tone of fear in her voice. "Put that down before someone gets hurt!"

"Why?" Lina asked. "I took it from your pocket. Why would you have brought it here if you hadn't intended to use it?"

"Don't shoot him!" Lane commanded.

"He caused all of this!" Lina shouted as she tightened her grip on the gun. "He deserves to die after all that he's done to these people and to us!"

"Lower your weapon!" a security guard ordered her. Lina looked around to see that 3 guards were directing their guns at her.

Jason smirked and laughed at the antics of the girl before him. "That's enough," he said. "You've had your little show Lina. Now put down the gun."

"Lina?" Kai asked as he looked between the two girls. "But that's Lane."

Lina shook her head. "No Kai," she said. "I switched with Lane after I left the hospital." She narrowed her eyes at Jason. "Very clever. How'd you figure it out?"

"Lane made me angry this morning," he explained, "earning herself a busted lip. I noticed that yours didn't seem to be injured even the slightest bit." Jason's smirk looked even darker and more malicious as he raised his arm and directed his own gun at Lina. "You won't shoot my father. No matter how different you are, you still have enough of my Lanie in you to stop yourself from doing such a thing."

"Stop wasting your time," Gideon said to his son. "Shoot the girl."

Jason narrowed his eyes as if to aim better, but he hesitated to pull the trigger, causing Gideon to laugh at him. "My son, I always knew you were too weak. You can't kill anyone, not even to save the life of your own father. I'm your flesh and blood, and still you can't gather the strength to save me. You're pathetic!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Jason yelled at him.

"Do it then," Gideon told him. "Prove to me that you are not the weakling I've always known you to be."

Jason tried to aim the gun again, but his hand began to tremble with fear. "Do it!" Gideon egged on.

"No Jason!" Lane pleaded. "This isn't like you!"

"Stay out of this," Jason spat at her.

"No!" Lane yelled. "I can't stay out of it! Please stop! This isn't the Jason I know."

Jason's eyes narrowed again with growing intensity. "The Jason you once know is long gone!" he growled as his finger pulled the trigger of the gun.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kai as he cried out and watched the speeding bullet pierce the left side of Lina's chest. The crowd started to run from the building frantically, but he just stood there as Lina toppled to the ground. He kneeled by her side, pulling her into his arms. "Lina please say something," he begged as he looked down at her already paling face.

Lina lifted her head and looked up weakly into Kai's eyes as she tried in vain to continue breathing. "K-kai..." she whispered before her head fell back again.

Though her eyes remained open, Kai knew that they saw no more. He hugged her body to him and kissed her forehead. "No Lina," he whispered to her softly. "Come back. Please..."


	12. Loss and Confusion

Sorry it took so long to update! But now it's here! I know the beginning of the chapter is messy, but I did that on purpose to show that it's a very messy situation. It's another crazy chapter with a lot happening... READ AND REVIEW!

* * *

Max sat alone outside of the courthouse, waiting for news of anything going on in the trial. He kept stealing glances at the guards who had kicked him out, hoping he'd get a chance to sneak in and get to his friends. One of the guards gave him a stern look. "What are you looking at kid?" he asked gruffly.

Max just stared incredulously at him. His best friend was extremely sick, possibly dying, and in one of the biggest trials of the year and the guards were blocking his entry because of a small little fight with Jason Gideon. 'It's not like the guy didn't provoke me!' Max thought indignantly. He knew himself that he wasn't the type of person to be set off so easily, so Jason had obviously been digging to strike a nerve. Max stood and walked over to the entrance to reason with the guards. "That fight in there wasn't just my fault," he told them. "Jason pretty much started the whole thing."

"You threw the punch," a guard replied, causing Max to roll his eyes impatiently.

"Look, just let me in and it won't happen again," Max told him, gaining no response. "Please," he begged desperately. "I need to be with my friend. I have no idea what's going on with him and-"

Max's little speech was cut short when people starting running out of the doors frantically. A couple of women were screaming hysterically about guns and murder, and Max's face paled worriedly. "What's going on in there!" he demanded. "What happened?" He got no real answer from the crowd, because all of the people were too focused on running away. "Please let me in to find out what happened!" Max begged the guards.

"No way kid," one of the guards said as the other looked unsure. "If something is going on in there, everyone is safer out here"

* * *

Gideon began laughing his cruel, twisted laugh as the remaining people in the room stared at the dead body in Kai's arms. "Look how weak you are my son!" he said to Jason.

Jason's eyes widened as he tore them away from Lina and looked at his father. "W-weak?" he stuttered in disbelief. "I did what you said Father! I just saved your life! You're going to call me weak after that?"

Gideon shook his head. "That girl would never have shot that gun anyway," he explained. "She was too kind-hearted to shoot even someone worse than me. Her death was not necessary." He laughed again at the look on his son's face. "You have no idea do you Jason? You just proved how much power I have over you. I control you, and that makes you weak. You are nothing but a pawn to me."

Jason pointed the gun at Gideon. "Shut up!" he ordered. "I'll kill you, you bastard!" He scowled as his father continued to chuckle. "Stop laughing!"

"You would never have the nerve to shoot me," Gideon told him. "I'm the only person you try so hard to please. You think I don't notice Son, but I do. I took notice of every time you tried to make me proud of you. I am regretful to inform you that you will never have my full approval, because wanting anyone's approval so much is a terrible weakness to have. I know that because of that you will try even harder, and that is why you won't shoot me. You never could stand up to me."

"Try me," Jason dared.

"Just admit it," Gideon said in a low, dangerous tone. "You're weak."

"Stop it!" Jason cried as he tried to block out his father's taunting words.

"You'll always be weak!" Gideon told him. "I'm ashamed to call you my son!" Gideon would have gone on to say more, but he was silenced when a bullet pierced his forehead, killing him instantly.

Jason dropped the gun and stared wide-eyed at his dead father as the guards ran up and apprehended him. One quickly took the gun from the ground before anyone else could get any ideas.

Lane watched them take him from the room to transport him to the nearby prison. She just couldn't believe what had happened in the past couple of minutes. Jason, once the love of her life, had just killed two people. Gideon, the man who had caused everything, was dead, but everything was far from over. Lane wasn't sure just how bad the after effects were going to be or if anyone was ready to deal with them.

* * *

Max paced back and forth impatiently in front of the entrance as he waited for any information. He was so worried about his friends and he had no idea if any of them had been hurt in the supposed shooting. Some guards from inside suddenly came out with Jason, whose hands were cuffed behind his back. Max curiously watched them put the elder teen into the back of a police car, just as some ambulances arrived. "No," Max thought aloud. "Someone did get hurt. Please don't let it be any of my friends."

As the paramedics got out of the ambulances and rushed into the building, Max decided to take the chance to get inside. Sticking close to them as they entered the build, Max snuck in behind them when the guards weren't looking at him. Once he got to the actual room of the trial he was shocked at what he saw. Tyson was being placed on a stretcher, unconscious with a look of pain on his face. Max would have followed Tyson, Hilary, and Grandpa if he hadn't found the large crowd around the defendant table so intriguing.

Max slowly made his way through the crowd to find paramedics placing Gideon in a body bag.

"Max," someone said, catching his attention. He looked to his right to see Ray and Mariah standing beside him.

"What the hell happened?" Max asked him with a frown.

Mariah sighed sadly. "Lina pulled a gun on Gideon," she said.

"She killed him!" Max exclaimed.

"No," Ray said. "Jason did, right after he shot Lina."

"Is Lina alright?" Max asked worriedly.

Ray just shook his head and looked at the ground. Max noticed as Ray's grip on Mariah's hand tightened reassuringly. Max gulped. "Is she even alive?"

Just then Mariam came up to the three of them. "Someone needs to get some sense into Kai," she said. "The paramedics are getting aggravated."

"Why?" Mariah asked.

"He won't let them take Lina's body from him," Mariam told them. "I've never seen Kai so upset before. He won't reason with them at all."

Max didn't stay to talk. He pushed through the crowd to get to where Kai was and saw Lina lying lifelessly in his arms, her dull eyes slightly opened, sending a chill up Max's spine. Kai just held onto her tightly, and Max was shocked to see that Kai actually had tears coming down his face freely. The paramedics were trying to get him to let go off the dead body but were failing miserably.

Lane walked over and kneeled beside Kai. "Kai," she said gently as she touched his arm. "Kai... please."

Kai looked up at her with so much pain in his eyes that it broke her heart. "She's really gone isn't she?" he whispered.

Lane nodded sadly. "I'm so sorry," she told him, genuinely meaning it.

Kai shook his head. "I can't have lost her already. I only just found her."

"Kai they need to take her," Lane told him.

"Get away," Kai said angrily. "Just go away. Leave me the hell alone."

"Kai she's dead," Max said bluntly. "You can't change that now."

Kai looked up at Max and glared at him for a minute before he stood and handed over Lina's body. Max walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Kai are you ok?" he asked.

Kai's face was cold and hard as he just stormed away without responding. No one's cries stopped him as he fled the building to be far away from everyone else. Lane stood and followed shortly behind Kai without a word to anyone.

"What should we do?" Mariam asked as she, Ray, and Mariah came up to Max.

"Let him go," Ray replied. "Kai needs time to himself. We should get to the hospital to see how Tyson is."

"Grandpa and Hilary already left," Max told them, remembering having seen them leaving the building as he'd entered. "I guess we should give Mr. Dickenson a call to come get us. I don't think he even knew that the trial date had been pushed up. Otherwise he would have come already."

"Well I'm sure he's heard about it after all of this," Ray said exasperatedly. "It's probably all over the news by now."

* * *

Kai walked swiftly and powerfully, ever halting in his path towards the beach. He ignored everyone's comments, wanting to be left alone. He needed time to think about what had just happened during the long day. It had all been too much to handle, and it had to be overwhelming even on someone as strong as Kai.

Kai had been through a lot in his life. He'd lost his parents at an extremely young age. He'd grown up as an outsider in his own world and he'd been raised to be the perfect warrior in every aspect. He'd been tormented, beaten, mistreated, and shunned by his own grandfather. He'd been badly misjudged by so many people until he'd met the Bladebreakers, until he'd met Tyson, the first person to ever look past the wall Kai had built up around himself. Then, when things had started to get better, he'd had to suffer again when Tyson had been believed to be dead. Sure, Tyson had been alive, but the things that Kai had come to actually enjoy about his life had changed again. Ray was nearly killed in the whole instant. Tyson had become deaf, and Hilary was stuck trying to salvage some aspect of life as it had once been for them. Even Max had changed a lot from his once cheerful self after everything he'd seen and done. Perhaps that change had been partially due to his having grown to be much more mature, but Max had needed to mature as much as he had in order to survive the kind of emotional trauma he'd been put through.

Kai had lived through all of that and he'd had to watch his friends go through pain as well. Still, he'd somehow managed to make it through everything without becoming a victim. This time was different for him though. He'd never fallen in love before, and it had surprised him so much to have found love so quickly in one person. As if the initial shock of falling in love hadn't been enough for Kai, he'd lost Lina just as quickly as he'd found her, and a shattered heart hurt more than anything else he'd ever had to endure. Kai had always been so strong and sure of himself, but now he didn't know if he'd be able to pick up the pieces of his life.

Kai kept walking in a daze until the sound of the ocean's waves reached his ear and brought him back to realty. He looked out at the water as it drifted to and from the shore with such graceful motion that captivated him. It reminded him so much of Lina's small little gestures, gestures that he'd come to love and know so well in just a day's time. The smoothness of the waves as they glided across reminded him of the way her hair had fallen and moved as she had tilted her head to the side when she'd been thinking. The light's reflection off of the water reminded him of the way her eyes had glimmered when she'd smiled at him. And, unfortunately, watching the waves crash and ebb away reminded him of how quickly she'd been taken from him.

Before Kai knew it, tears were falling down his cheeks again, and he felt ashamed of himself. He'd never let himself cry like that before. But then again, no person had every really gotten to him the way Lina had. He sat down on the sand and pulled his knees to his chest, unable to stop himself from thinking about her. For some reason the girl he had just found and lost had made such a big impact on him. He didn't even feel like himself anymore. The only comfort he had in it was that no one could see him in his weakened state of mind. It was too bad he didn't know that he was being watched by a pair of familiar, sad purple eyes.

* * *

Poor Kai... Don't think that the story is anywhere near over. There's a lot more to come. And for all you Joseph fans, you'll be happy to know he's coming back into the story! Yay! I love Joseph, so I want him to be in the story again. I'll try to update again soon. 


	13. The Last Straw?

Yey! Another update! Joseph isn't here yet though. I have to get through some other stuff before I can bring him into the story, but don't worry. I finally worked through my writer's block to get an outline for the rest of the story down. So that's some more good news! Ok, well, please review this chapter!

* * *

_"This was the scene at the city courthouse earlier today, where 17-year-old Jason Gideon shot and killed 2 people, including his father Alexander Gideon, who was standing trial today on numerous charges of illegal activity, kidnapping, attempted murder, and first degree murder. The trial had been set to take place later this week, but after receiving information that someone was planning to kill his father, Jason Gideon demanded for the date to be pushed up to today without the public_ _knowing in advance. The name of the other person killed here today is unknown, but we do have footage of the police taking her body from the building."_ The screen showed a body bag being zipped up with a girl with long purple hair inside it.

A 22-year-old young man with the same color hair as the girl sat with 2 of his friends on a couch in front of the television. When he saw the girl on the screen he stood abruptly. His jaw dropped, and he stared more intently at the scene being played before him.

"Hey," one of his friends said. "Isn't Jason Gideon your sister's boyfriend or something?" He frowned when his question was ignored.

"Jason Gideon is already in custody, and the police assure that there is no way of him making it out of prison on bail." The news report continued to show the videotaping of the girl's body being taken from the courthouse.

"No," the man said softly.

His friends looked at each other questioningly, as if asking the other if they knew what was going on. "John what's wrong?" one of them, Matt, asked.

"That girl," John said. "It's… it's… Lanie…"

"Your little sister?" Eric, John's other friend, asked incredulously.

John nodded slowly as his eyes brimmed with tears. "He… he shot her," he whispered. "He killed her."

Both of his friends stood, Eric placing his hand on John's shoulder. "John?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

John finally took his eyes away from the television. "My little sister's dead," he said in an angry voice. "She's dead! She loved that asshole, and he killed her! Of course I'm not alright!" He walked over to the side table where the phone sat and picked it up.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked.

"I'm calling up the boys," John replied as he dialed. "Work starts early this week. I want revenge." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "That bastard won't even make it to his bail hearing." -

* * *

_"Jason Gideon is already in custody, and the police assure that there is no way of him making it out of prison on bail."_ After showing some more footage of Lina being taken in a body bag, the news report showed a recording of Ray, Max, Mariah, and Mariam leaving the courthouse. _"The 2 murder victims were not the only people that left the courthouse on stretchers either. Tyson Granger, the World Champion of Beyblading, was also taken to Tokyo Hospital. Granger, who was kidnapped by Alexander Gideon and assumed dead only a month ago, is known to have a hearing disability that was inflicted upon him during his time being held captive by Gideon and his employees. Witnesses at the courthouse today claim that Granger seemed to have no such affliction, though have all said that Granger did lose consciousness after appearing to be suffering from extreme pain. There is no word as of yet on what caused this problem, but the hospital has stated that Granger is in critical condition."_

"Oh my," Mr. Dickenson gasped as he turned off his television. He ran straight to his coat rack and took his jacket. "Albert!" He called out his chauffeur's name. "Hurry! We need to get to Tokyo hospital immediately!"

* * *

Lane watched from a distance as Kai stared out at the ocean in a daze. "He really did love her," she whispered to herself as she saw how lost and sad Kai was. She found herself approaching him, feeling obligated to say something, anything, to comfort him in a time when he was so lost. When she reached him, she had no clue what to say, so she just whispered the first words that found her lips. "Kai, I'm so sorry."

Kai turned around and looked at her for a bit, but he didn't seem to really even see her. Lane saw that he seemed to be looking right through her, and his gaze was startling. It was just so empty and lonely. She kneeled in front of Kai and sighed, looking down at her lap. "It's so strange that you cared about her that much Kai," she said. "You only knew her about a day. How do you know you loved her?"

Kai scowled at her question. "How do you know you were really in love with Jason?" he asked her. "You obviously didn't know him well enough to know what kind of person he was."

Lane gaped at him incredulously. She'd been trying to be nice to him, and he'd taken offense to her. "Fine," she scoffed. "I was only trying to help out, but if you're going to act like that you can just forget about it." She turned away from him indignantly and began to walk away.

"I just knew I loved her," Kai's voice said softly, making Lane stop in her tracks. "She made me feel like I didn't have to put up a strong front anymore, like I could just… I don't know… be me."

Lane looked at the ground sadly. "Jason made me feel that way, once upon a time," she told him. "It was like a fairy tale, I guess." She turned back to face Kai and see him now standing and staring intently at her. "And like all fairy tales, it was too good to be true, too good to last." She sighed and then let out a hollow, shaky laugh. "Funny how I still have some sort of feelings for him after all of this. I still feel like I've let him down."

"It wasn't your fault he changed," Kai said as he turned away to gaze at the water again. "That kind of darkness that he found was in him the whole time. It was in his blood. He may have fought it for a long time, but he lost the fight. He gave into it. None of that was your fault."

"I still feel like there was more that I could have done," Lane said as she walked up beside Kai and stared at the waves with him. "Moments with him keep running through my head. I keep asking myself 'What if I had done that differently?' or 'What if I had said that?'" She closed her eyes and took in a big breath, smelling the saltwater air, before letting it out and opening her eyes again to look at Kai. "I keep thinking that maybe if I had been better for him I could have saved him. Maybe he'd still love me the way I still love the person he used to be."

"I understand you not wanting to let go," Kai said as watched her from the corner of his eyes. "I wish there was something I could have done to stop Lina from being killed, but she's gone."

Lane wiped away the tears that had been building up in her eyes before putting her arms around Kai. Kai was caught a bit off guard by the hug, but he eventually slid his own arms around her comfortingly. They both found some peace for a moment as they held one another, but that peace was ended as they each found themselves moving closer to the other's face. Once their lips touched, it seemed that they had come back to their senses, and Kai pulled himself away from her and stared at his feet shamefully.

Lane bit her bottom lip as she looked at Kai lustfully, but she suddenly was appalled at her feelings and actions. "I'm sorry Kai," she said as she moved nearer to him, placing a hand on his arm.

Kai jerked away from her, and turned his back on her. "You aren't Lina," he said. "No matter how much you seem like it, you aren't her."

Lane frowned. "I wasn't trying to be," she said. She looked at the ground when Kai started to walk away. "Where are you going?"

Kai stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder at her. He really hadn't minded the kiss so much. She reminded him so much of Lina that he wanted to kiss her for the rest of his life, but he couldn't. She wasn't Lina, and he had to stop thinking like she was. "This is all screwed up Lane," he said in a quiet voice. "You and I both know it. We can't do this. At least I know that I can't do this. I'm sorry. Goodbye Lane." Then he looked ahead of him and continued walking off without a second thought to it.

Lane just stared at the sand as the barely audible sound of feet on sand faded from her hearing. She knelt on the ground and dug her hands into the sand. What had she thought she'd been doing with Kai? Had she been trying to forget things with Jason? Maybe she'd been trying to replace him. She did know that for some reason a sudden feeling for Kai had been sparked in her, and she had to admit that it didn't feel too bad. She looked up to see Kai's figure just disappearing from sight. She wanted to call out to him, to make him turn back, but it was too late. When Kai's form was nothing but a speck on the horizon, she pounded her fist on the ground in anger and hot tears fell to the ground. "Lane stop it!" she scolded herself. "Another guy is not going to make you feel any better about Jason. Just pull yourself together and move on with your life."

Just when she didn't think things could get any worse, she felt water begin to fall from the sky. "Great," she sighed as she stood up. "Now I'm going to be soaking wet by the time I'm home." With one last glance to where Kai had disappeared she ran off.

* * *

Mr. Dickenson sprinted into the hospital as soon as his driver came to the entrance. The rain was already pouring down hard outside. When Mr. Dickenson got into the building he immediately spotted the Ray and the others and rushed over to them. "Mr. Granger, kids, what is going on!" he asked urgently. 

"Too much to tell," Ray said exasperatedly. "I guess you saw the news."

Mr. Dickenson nodded as he looked around at all of the teenagers. "Where is Kai?" he asked. "Please tell me he isn't hurt as well."

Max shook his head. "He ran off," he told him. "Tyson's the only one who's hurt."

"How is he?" Mr. Dickenson asked. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Grandpa asked. "The doctors are still trying to figure that out."

Hilary was sitting beside Max, who nudged her gently to catch her attention. When she looked up she saw that Mr. Dickenson was staring at her. "How are you doing Hilary?" the old man asked kindly.

Hilary just shrugged and looked back at the ground. Mariam sighed and shook her head and she took hold of Max's hand. Mr. Dickenson looked at her in confusion. "When did you come back?" he asked. "Mariam? Am I right?"

Mariam nodded. "I just got back from the village," she told him. "I think I'm moving here."

Mr. Dickenson smiled warmly at her. "Well, it's a pleasure to see you again, even if it is under these circumstances."

"Excuse me." Everyone looked around to see that Tyson's doctor was standing before them looking very somber.

"How is he?" Grandpa asked as he stood. Just then Kai walked into the room, unnoticed by anyone.

The doctor shook his head. "We've stabilized his condition," he said. "But he… he's gone into a coma." At hearing those words everyone was dumbfounded and Kai was gone before anyone had known he was there. "I'm very sorry," the doctor said sadly. Unfortunately, the doctor's pity comforted no one.


	14. Tears, Fears, and Checking Your Gut

As shocking as it is, I am back with an update! Sorry it took so long! But at least it's here...

Read and Review...

* * *

Everyone else had decided to go home for the night, even Grandpa, most likely to allow Hilary to be alone with Tyson for a bit, which she was quite grateful for. She stood in front of the door to his room hesitantly, as if awaiting a sign that some sort of decision must be made. No such sign came, and she reached for the knob, nearly jumping out of her skin when it opened itself. A rather short nurse walked out of the room, jumping herself as she almost knocked into the teenager. "Oh I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she pulled the door slightly, though not enough for it to click shut. She had an odd sort of look on her face, maybe only because her tightly pulled-back brown hair made her face appear extremely taught. "I didn't see you there."

"It's alright," Hilary replied softly, backing up a bit to allow the nurse room. She felt a bit strange in the presence of this lady; her wide eyes seemed full of pity.

"No, no," the nurse said a bit briskly. "I suppose I should have expected visitors here for that one. He is the World Champion after all. Wow. You know, I've never really met anyone famous before. Well, I suppose this doesn't really count if he's in a coma and all, but…"

Hilary avoided looking at the woman, unable to recall a time she felt more uncomfortable and offended. How, at a time like this, could that woman be thinking about meeting celebrities? "Well," she said scathingly. "You know there are quite a few other famous beybladers hanging around somewhere, waiting to see their other famous friend. Perhaps I could just introduce you to one of them. Would that make you feel any better?"

The nurse's already nervous face fell completely. "Oh no," she gasped. "I am so sorry! I really didn't mean to… I mean, I'm not like that at all… It's just that, I'm really not good at talking to people who know someone who's dying… Not that he's going to die! But… What I'm trying to say is… Oh goodness… I'm just awful at making people feel better…"

Hilary sighed and stepped closer to the door, resting her hand on the knob. "May I just go in and see my friend alone?" she asked anxiously.

"Oh yes… of course." The nurse began to walk off dismayed.

"Is…" Hilary began, calling after her. "Is it awful?"

The nurse looked back at her for a second, giving her a gentle, sad smile. "You love that boy in there?"

"Yes," Hilary replied. "Yes I do."

"Seeing the ones we love like that is always awful. Just go see him." And then the babbling little nurse walked off, leaving just Hilary, Tyson, and the door that was between them.

Sighing, Hilary slowly pushed it, a feeling of immense fear looming over her as to what she might find lying in the bed. She'd never seen anyone in a coma before, but from movies and television shows that she'd she, she deduced that it would be horrible. Not in a horrifying kind of way, just gloomy. The nurse had somehow eased and worsened that feeling. She peeked into the room as if to see that all was clear, opening the door a bit wider as she did so. She was shocked that it was nothing at all as she'd imagined.

It was much, much worse.

Tyson was lying under white sheets, his normally tanned skin almost as white as them. Various tubes and wires were connecting his body to different machines. The only noises in the room were from the heart monitors consistent beating and the respirator pushing slow and steady breaths into the tube in Tyson's throat.

Hilary sat by Tyson's bedside. She brushed his bangs away from his face, playing gently with his hair. Every time she looked at the tube going down his throat it was all she could do to keep herself from crying hysterically. "Oh Tyson…"

She caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers, thinking about how, despite the machines and his pale skin, he looked so peaceful, sleeping like an angel. She just wished that sleeping was all he was doing. Her angel wasn't going to wake up if she called his name, but maybe, just maybe, he'd hear her through his unconsciousness.

* * *

Lane knocked on the apartment door as she tried to shake off some of the wetness she'd accumulated from being out in the rain. She knew that she must have looked pathetic standing there at her brother's door. She suddenly became very interested in staring at her feet. What would John say when she told him about everything that had happened?

Her head snapped back up when John opened the door, looking quite upset and then shocked. She wondered why he looked so shocked to see her, but then his shock turned to joy. He scooped his little sister up in his arms and spun her around. "Lanie!" he cried happily as he set her down again, closing the door behind hit. "I… I thought you were dead!"

"What?" Lane asked incredulously.

"I saw you on the news," John explained. "They were putting you into a body bag. I could've sworn it was you Lane. It looked exactly like you! And when they said that Jason did it…"

"Wait," Lane interrupted. "All of that was already on the news? How much does everyone know?"

"Jason killed two people," John told her. "It's all over the news. I don't understand Lanie. How are you here? It really looked exactly like you."

"Lina," Lane said sadly as she walked over and sat on the couch, burying her face in her hands. "John I did a very stupid thing a while back."

"What are you talking about?" He took a seat beside her.

"I discovered how to clone myself successfully," Lane told him seriously as she looked back up. "At first it wasn't so bad, because I had someone to help me out with my work. But then Lina got a mind of her own. I thought she was just rebelling for the sake of doing so, but I was wrong. Lina knew that what Jason was making me do was wrong, and she fell in love with one of those Bladebreaker kids. And now she's dead John."

John just stared blankly at his sister. "You're saying that the person I saw on television was a clone of you?" he asked.

Lane nodded with shame. "Mr. Gideon made Jason kill her," she said. "And now that poor Kai's got a broken heart, all because I couldn't give up on that stupid ass!" She let out a short laugh. "The worst part is that I still feel bad for Jason."

"Oh my god," John whispered. "I just can't believe all of this. I thought you were gone forever! I was so mad, and I wanted Jason to pay. I made sure he'd pay."

Lane frowned. "You 'made sure'?" she repeated. "What did you do John?"

"I got one of my boys into the jail to take him out," John said in a cautious voice. "I'm sorry Lanie."

"Well call it off!" she cried in retaliation. "Damn it, John! Call it off right now!"

"I can't," John told her guiltily. "It's too late. There's no way that I can stop him now. I'm sorry."

Lane covered her hand with her mouth and let out a choked sob. "No, Jason. No."

* * *

Kenny, Mariam, Mariah, Ray, and Max all sat around in the living room of the dojo with very little to say. As would any person be, they were completely overwhelmed from the events that had occurred. Mariah had her head resting on Ray's shoulder and Mariam's hand was holding Max's. Kenny had his trusty Dizzi there to comfort him as he typed away on her over in the corner of the room. Typing always had made him feel better.

"Do you think Kai's alright?" Ray whispered, as he leaned his own head on top of Mariah's.

"I don't know," Mariah replied honestly. "I wouldn't be."

"It was so scary," Mariam said. "All of that blood… Her blood… All on him. I would never have been able to hold the person I love in my arms like that, not while they died."

"Kai's strong," Ray said decidedly. "He'll be alright. He's Kai."

Kenny sighed to himself. Max looked up from where he'd been watching his fingers trace Mariam's. "What about Tyson?" he asked. "Will he be alright?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ray said, trying to sound confident. "As stubborn as Tyson is, we'll have a hard time keeping him in bed the second he's awake."

"It's so weird though," Mariah said. "I mean, his brain just overheated? It was too stressed?"

"The poisons," Kenny said softly, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. "Mixing them together just overworked his entire system."

"But Tyson's too strong to just give up," Ray said. "He and Kai will both be alright. Just give it some time and don't give up on them."

* * *

Jason sat in a jail cell by himself, handcuffs still imprisoning his wrists. He'd only been in his cage for maybe an hour or two, so the reality was still sinking in. All he knew was that the place was frightening and that, after his display at the courtroom, he would be spending the entirety of his life there.

He looked around the dank little room, appalled by the filth. He was used to mansions and servants, not bars and guards. This was where murderers and scum belonged, and for the first time, Jason believed that his father had belonged there among them. He inwardly tormented himself for ever having wanted his father out of prison. Everything was his fault. His father had turned him into a murderer, and now he deserved to live amongst the scum.

He heard a buzzing sound down the corridor. He remembered the sound; it was the barred door of the hall being opened, probably by some guard coming to check on the inmates. The unusual sound that truly caught his attention though was a loud bang, followed by the shattering of something made of glass. Jason scrambled to his door, looking out the bars to see sparks flying from what had once been a camera located just in front of his cell. He heard heavy footsteps coming towards him and saw that the source was a guard. "What are you doing?" he asked as the man pointed a gun in his direction. He grabbed onto the bars fearfully as the man came closer.

"Murderers like you don't deserve to live," the guard said as he stood directly in front of Jason. "Killing Lane Rider was the biggest mistake of your life."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked. "I would never kill Lanie! I love her!"

"Liar," the guard hissed as he raised the gun to Jason's face so that he was staring straight down the barrel. "We all saw it on television. You killed your father as well. Some loving, caring person you are, huh?"

Jason was now shaking in terror. "You- You can't kill me," he stuttered. "You'll be arrested. I'm sure the management here knows who is on shift right now."

The guard laughed. "You think I would be that stupid? I don't work here you idiot. No, there will be no trace that I was ever here. Besides, why would a guard want to avenge a girl he doesn't even know? Lane has her own connections Jason, connections you never would have known. But don't worry. Dying will be an adventure all of its own. Just think of it this way; you'd be doomed to spend life in here if you don't die. Can you imagine spending every day in this tiny cell? I suppose it is a bit cozy, but nowhere near as extravagant as the places you are obviously used to."

"I don't want to die," Jason whispered, stepping away from the man and his gun.

"Sorry Jason," the man said as he shot him directly between the eyes. "But what goes around comes around."

Jason's body fell limply to the ground, a small pool of blood growing from the whole in his head. The man lowered the gun and walked back down the hall, noticing that an inmate was watching him with wide eyes. "Don't say a word," he told the prisoner as he gestured towards the gun. With that, he disappeared.

* * *

Kai stood alone on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. It was what he liked to call his "gut check," a test he'd put himself through numerous times since he'd been a child in the Abbey. He'd always had a difficult life, more difficult than most in fact, and sometimes he caught himself wondering if it was truly worth it, if maybe dying would be easier. It was at times like those, when he questioned life, that he had to test the prospect of death.

Standing up high where he was unreachable, he stared over to where falling meant death and he wondered if death was worth it. He and Tala had done it together before when they were young; they'd actually forced each other into taking a gut check every time they'd ever come close to tears in the Abbey. It had always appeared that death was the only thing that either of them had ever lacked the guts to do.

Kai stared over the edge at the rocky water. He wondered if it would be painful, though he'd already decided that it could be no more painful than losing Lina and knowing Tyson was in a coma. He could easily do it right there; for the first time he felt he had the guts enough to do it. But then he wondered if Lina would think less of him if she ever knew. "That doesn't matter," he whispered. "She's gone now."


End file.
